ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Sanctuaries

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps she plans to take to ensure high standards in animal sanctuaries;
	(2)  if she will make it a requirement for animal sanctuaries to be licensed.

Ben Bradshaw: This Department is currently working on an Animal Welfare Bill. Under the new legislation it is proposed to licence animal sanctuaries and to apply a statutory code of practice that will set a minimum standard of welfare for animals in sanctuaries.

Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when she will reply to the letter of 6 May from the hon. Member for Billericay regarding Pitsea Tip;
	(2)  when her Department will reply to the letter of 6 May from the hon. Member for Billericay regarding Pitsea Tip.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 30 June 2003
	The hon. Member's letter was received in the Department on 20 May. I responded on 4 July.

Crop Spraying

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are in place requiring farmers and growers spraying crops to inform the public about the type of chemicals being used.

Alun Michael: The Statutory Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Pesticides on Farms and Holdings provides advice for farmers on best practice, including notifying the public of impending spray operations. There is also a legal obligation to notify others in the case of aerial spraying of pesticides and for the use of sulphuric acid as a pesticide. In addition to these safeguards Ministers are considering if further measures could be taken to make more information available to the public on pesticide spray operations.

Greyhounds

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many greyhounds have retired from British greyhound racing in each year since 1997; and how many were re-homed each year.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government do not hold records on the numbers of greyhounds that retire each year from racing.
	Each racing greyhound is the property of an individual owner and so it is not possible to record what happens to the dogs once they retire.
	The racing industry and welfare organisations estimate that some 9,000 racing greyhounds retire each year. The Retired Greyhound Trust claims to re-home 1,400 per year. An undisclosed number will remain with their owners as pets.

Sharks

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of shark (a) fishing and (b) finning on the world's population of sharks.

Ben Bradshaw: Current scientific knowledge indicates that many of the world's populations of sharks are under threat from fishing activities. The targeting of sharks for their fins alone adds to this threat. In view of concern over this threat to shark populations, this Department has been working to protect sharks at a national and international level. In addition to putting in place measures to protect the basking shark under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, we have secured strengthened protection for this species at an international level under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
	The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) produced in 1999 an International Plan of Action for the conservation and management of sharks, to which the European Commission signed up on behalf of the European Union. We have been pressing the Commission for action to follow this up and are pleased that work will begin shortly on the development and implementation of a Community Plan of Action.
	Discussions on a Commission regulation to restrict the practice of shark finning have recently concluded. While it was not possible to achieve the complete ban on this practice that we would have preferred, we were able to secure some important concessions, including additional control clauses and a commitment to a complete review of the regulation in the light of the development of the Community Plan of Action.

Waste Incineration

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to make available additional funding to the Environment Agency for the regulation of on-farm drum incinerators when the Agricultural Waste Regulations are introduced.

Elliot Morley: A draft of the Agricultural Waste Regulations will be issued for public consultation in the autumn with a view to their coming into force in early 2004. The main purpose of the Regulations is to apply the requirements of the Waste Framework Directive to agricultural waste. Incineration is subject to control under the Directive as a waste disposal operation. Provision has been made within the Corporate Planning process to meet the Environment Agency's costs, through charges and Grant-in-Aid, as a "competent authority" for the control of agricultural waste under the Directive. My Department has received no specific request from the Agency for funding for the regulation of on-farm drum incinerators.

TRANSPORT

Aircraft Noise

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to change the measurement criteria for aircraft noise in the UK to correspond to those of the World Health Organisation.

Tony McNulty: WHO noise guideline figures are given in terms of equivalent continuous sound level (dBA Leq) and of the sound event peak (dBA Lmax). Leq is already the established metric for averaging aircraft noise, as recommended in the planning guidance note PPG 24. Lmax and SEL (which takes account of event duration as well as peak level) are also extensively used in describing individual noise events.
	In due course, noise contours will also be produced for aircraft noise and for other sources in accordance with the metrics, again based on Leq, prescribed by EU Directive 2002/49/EC.

Aircraft Noise

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) published in the last two years on the impact of different aircraft noise levels on those affected.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport commissioned a study into attitudes to noise from civil aircraft sources in England in November 2001; it is expected to report towards the end of next year.
	This major study was commissioned following three earlier, smaller-scale studies commissioned by DETR into the effects of noise specifically at night: "Adverse Effects of Night-Time Aircraft Noise" (CAA R&D 9964); "Aircraft noise and sleep—1999 UK Trial Methodology Study" (Flindell et al.) and "Perceptions of Aircraft Noise, Sleep and Health" (Diamond et al.) all published during 2000.

Crossrail

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement regarding the progress of Crossrail.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Transport to the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey), and my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford, South (Mike Gapes) on 13 May 2003, Official Report, column 149.

Disabled Parking Permits

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 10 June 2003, Official Report, columns 736–37W, on disabled parking permits, when he will take forward the recommendations received on the Blue Badge Scheme; and what enforcement measures he proposes to take.

Tony McNulty: We are committed to introducing a specific power for the police, traffic wardens and local authority parking enforcement officers to inspect badges. We are also looking at the feasibility of establishing a national database of badge holders; the introduction of smartcard technology; increasing penalties for abuse and misuse of the Scheme.
	The power to inspect, and a number of other measures, will need to be introduced through primary legislation and we are looking for a suitable legislative opportunity to do so. Meanwhile, we are already working on the changes that require secondary legislation, taking forward a number of research projects and drafting new guidance for local authorities to accompany the changes. We aim to implement the changes at the earliest opportunity.

Liverpool Airport

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by how much the passenger numbers to Liverpool John Lennon airport have changed in the past five years.

Tony McNulty: The number of passengers arriving at or departing from Liverpool John Lennon airport has increased from 680,000 in 1997 to 2,835,000 in 2002.

London Mayor

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times he and his predecessors met the Mayor of London in official meetings at the Department in each of the past three years.

Tony McNulty: Ministers meet the Mayor of London from time to time to discuss a range of issues.

London Underground

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent changes have been made in the risk profile of the London Underground PPP.

Tony McNulty: As there has been no changes to the PPP contract terms, which may alter the allocation of risk, there have been no changes in the risk profile.

Network Rail (Tree Felling)

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what circumstances Network Rail carries out routine tree felling; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: This is an operational matter for Network Rail. However, as my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State stated in responding to the adjournment debate of 3 June 2003 called by my hon. Friend, Network Rail's first priority is to operate a safe, reliable railway. Tree clearance plays an important part in achieving that objective and in addressing the significant impact upon train performance arising from leaf fall in the autumn. Network Rail must strike a balance between providing a safe, efficient, reliable and affordable rail network and meeting environmental and community concerns.

Offshore Windfarms

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of his recent letter to Mr. John Home Robertson MSP, referred to in column 1209 of the Scottish Parliament Official Report of 26 June 2003 regarding his plans to introduce legislation to allow the establishment of safety zones around UK offshore windfarms.

David Jamieson: A copy has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Oil Spill Contingency Plans

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many coastal local authorities (a) do not have and (b) have oil spill contingency plans that have not been updated since the publication of the National Contingency Plan for dealing with pollution incidents.

David Jamieson: There are 164 coastal local authorities in the UK. Of these, only one does not have an oil spill contingency plan as yet. Of the 53 coastal local authorities who published contingency plans prior to the National Contingency Plan, all but one has either rewritten, or begun the process of reviewing/rewriting their plans.

Oil Spill Contingency Plans

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to give coastal local authorities a statutory responsibility to prepare and maintain oil spill contingency plans.

David Jamieson: The question of whether coastal local authorities should have a statutory duty to prepare contingency plans for shoreline pollution incidents was raised in the context of the Emergency Planning Review, and my Department will be commenting on the resulting draft Civil Contingencies Bill, which has recently been published.

Redhill Aerodrome

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of whether the development of a commercial runway at Redhill Aerodrome with a rail line to Gatwick Station would fall within the vicinity of Gatwick as defined in the 1979 agreement between BAA and West Sussex county council; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport has made no assessment of the type referred to by the hon. Member. We will consider this as part of our appraisal of the proposals submitted by Redhill Aerodrome Ltd.

Redhill Aerodrome

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 1 July 2003, Official Report, column 192W, on Redhill Aerodrome, what future meetings are planned with Redhill Aerodrome Ltd. and associated companies and individuals.

Tony McNulty: No further meetings are currently planned with Redhill Aerodrome Ltd. (RAL) or representatives thereof. Their second response to "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East)" was submitted on 30 June 2002.

Staff Costs

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff the Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which the Department is responsible had in each year since 1997; and what the cost of those staff was in each of those years.

Tony McNulty: Data on staffing levels in the Civil Service are collected from the department and its agencies twice-yearly, in April and October. Headline figures are published under National Statistics guidelines via a press notice. Those for October 2002 were published on 27 February 2003.
	A copy of the press notice, accompanying media brief and supporting tables is available at www.civil-service.gov.uk/statistics.
	More detailed information on the Civil Service is published annually in 'Civil Service Statistics'. The last edition, based on April 2001 data, was published in June 2002. The next edition, based on April 2002 data, is due to be published at the end of July 2003.
	Data on staff in non-departmental public bodies are published by Cabinet Office in its annual publication. The latest edition 'Public Bodies 2002', was published in January 2003.
	Staff costs for the Department for Transport can be found in our Annual Report 2003.
	Copies of both the Civil Service Statistics and Public Bodies 2002 are available in the Libraries of the House.

Unmanned Level Crossings

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many unmanned level crossings have been closed to public access in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what discussions his Department has had with Network Rail since its formation on public access across unmanned level crossings over the rail network.

Tony McNulty: This is an operational matter for Network Rail. Network Rail advises that information on the number of public unmanned level crossing closures in each of the last five years is not readily available. Departmental officials have a number of discussions with Network Rail on a number of matters, which include level crossings. More generally, the Health and Safety Executive has on-going discussions with Network Rail at both local and national level about safety and access arrangements at level crossings.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Film Industry

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects the Arts Council of England to transfer funds to the Film Council to fund the accessibility to films initiative announced on 9 December 2002; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: As part of the £176 million Arts Capital Programme, Arts Council England earmarked £15 million for cinema exhibition. Part of that £15 million was the sum of £500,000 to improve accessibility to films for people with sensory disabilities.
	In 2002, the Arts Council made the further decision to delegate the earmarked £15 million to the Film Council once their film exhibition strategy was in place. They have recently received details of the scheme from the Film Council and are now in a position to complete delegation.

Tourism (Wales)

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what VisitBritain is doing to promote overseas tourism in Wales.

Richard Caborn: VisitBritain works closely in partnership with the Wales Tourist Board in Wales's priority markets abroad, especially US, Germany and the Netherlands, to promote Wales by means of a wide range of marketing activities. In addition, since June last year, VisitBritain has organized some 46 familiarisation visits to Wales for journalists from 10 key markets world-wide. Wales is also featured extensively in a number of VisitBritain's campaigns, both on the web and in print. These include, for example, the Hidden Britain and Royal Heritage campaigns, which highlight Caernarfon Castle.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Appointments

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the people appointed to ad hoc posts within her Department bearing the titles of advocate, Tsar, adviser, champion and comparable titles since May 1997; what their job title is or was; what their role is or was; whether they were or are being paid; what the total cost of each such person was in each financial year, including expenses and benefits; what the expected cost of each such person is in 2003–04; to whom they are accountable; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: At 11 June, my Department had the following special advisers: Jim Godfrey, Deborah Lincoln, Roger Sharp and Kitty Ussher. With the exception of one adviser, all of the above are paid appointments. Under exemption 12 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, details of individual salaries are not disclosed in order to protect the privacy of the individuals concerned.

Audit/Company Law

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects to publish draft legislation on audit and company law reforms.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 4 July 2003
	We have just completed consultation on proposals for taking forward changes to the regulatory regime for the accountancy profession following last year's review, and on community interest companies. We hope to set out some further elements of company law reform by the end of the year.

Bank Accounts

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the percentage of the UK population was without any form of bank account in each of the last five years; and what she estimates it will be in April 2004.

Chris Pond: I have been asked to reply.
	Information is not available for the time period requested or for UK coverage.The Family Resources Survey can provide estimates up to 2001–02 for Great Britain. This information is in the table.
	
		
			  Percentage of adults without any form of bank account 
		
		
			 1997–98 11 
			 1998–99 10 
			 1999–2000 10 
			 2000–01 11 
			 2001–02 9 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). 2001–02 is the latest year for which data is available. Figures have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.
	2. Adults are defined as all those aged 16 and over, except for 16 to 18-year-olds in full-time non-advanced education; all adults in the household are interviewed as part of the FRS.
	3. Any type of bank account includes Current account, National Savings Ordinary and National Savings Investment or any other bank/building society accounts.
	4. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors that control for tenure type, Council Tax Band and a number of demographic variables. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining response bias.
	Source:
	Family Resources Survey (Great Britain)

BNFL

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether BNFL requires authorisation to provide donations to the United States Nuclear Energy Institute.

Stephen Timms: No. This is a matter for the BNFL Board.

Broadband

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding will be made available for the provision of broadband infrastructure for rural villages.

Stephen Timms: My aim is for every community across the UK, irrespective of location, to be able to access affordable broadband from a competitive market.
	Government will be spending £1 billion over the next few years on public sector connectivity. This will enable broadband access in every primary and secondary school, GP's surgeries and other public sector services. DTI, with Regional Development Agencies are aggregating this public sector demand and this investment will have a significant positive impact on industry investment and availability of broadband. I believe this will make a significant contribution to extending broadband to village communities.

Business Statistics

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) start ups of new businesses and (b) businesses going into receivership there were in each of the last three years in (i) England and Wales and (ii) North Yorkshire.

Nigel Griffiths: New business start-ups are measured officially by VAT registrations. The latest data is available for 2001.
	
		VAT registrations 1999–2001 -- Number
		
			  1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 England and Wales 163,485 168,455 160,280 
			 Former Country of North Yorkshire(1) 2,240 2,30 2,210 
		
	
	(1) Includes York UA
	Source:
	Business start-ups and closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1980–2001, Small Business Service
	Receivership data is published by DTI. No regional or local area data is available.
	
		Receivership appointments(2) 2000–02
		
			 England and Wales Number 
		
		
			 2000 1,595 
			 2001 1,914 
			 2002 1,541 
		
	
	(2) Includes administrative receiverships and others, for example under the Law of Property Act 1925
	Source:
	DTI.

Company Directors

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many adverse reports required under the Company Directors' Disqualification Act 1986 have been received by her Department concerning the conduct of directors in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is as follows:
	
		
			 Calendar year IP Adverse Reports OR Adverse Reports Total 
		
		
			 1997 3,280 2,576 5,856 
			 1998 3,314 2,229 5,543 
			 1999 3,422 2,140 5,562 
			 2000 3,396 2,153 5,549 
			 2001 3,186 2,074 5,260 
			 2002 3,552 2,500 6,052 
		
	
	The above figures are the number of unfitted reports submitted by both Insolvency Practitioners (IP) and Official Receivers (OR).

Company Directors

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many disqualification orders have been made against directors under the Company Directors' Disqualification Act 1986 for a period of (a) two years and (b) more than two years in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The figures for the number of disqualification orders and undertakings obtained by The Insolvency Service under section 6 of the Company Directors' Disqualification Act 1986 are:
	
		
			  2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 
		
		
			 Two years 74 100 122 122 114 128 
			 More than two years 1,520 1,589 1,380 1,367 1,236 1,091 
			 Total 1,594 1,689 1,502 1,489 1,350 1,219

Company Directors

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many disqualification undertakings have been received by her Department from company directors since 1 April 2001.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Undertakings 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Period April 2001 to March 2002 1,213 
			 Period April 2002 to March 2003 197 
			 Total 2,685

Company Directors

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the Tyson Report on the Recruitment and Development of Non-Executive Directors; and if she will implement its recommendations.

Jacqui Smith: I am grateful to Laura Tyson and her group for her thought-provoking report. It shows the clear benefits for business of diversity at board level. It is vital for UK business that they look more widely for the best candidates. I also agree that it is important to monitor change and highlight best practice examples of building diverse and meritocratic boards.
	I welcome the report's three recommendations:
	1. Rigorous and transparent Non-Executive Director Selection Processes—This is being taken forward as part of the Financial Reporting Council's work on amending the Combined Code, following Derek Higgs' Review.
	2. An initiative to bring together companies and training providers to establish guidelines to ensure that training programmes for directors are providing what is needed, and that useful information about such programmes is easily accessible on a timely basis.
	3. An initiative to monitor both progress on achieving rigorous and transparent processes for NED appointments and progress on building more diverse boardrooms. I agree that it would be useful to monitor progress and disseminate best practice and we will be considering how best this should be done. But it is clear this is not the end of the story. We must see real results in broadening the talent pool of directors appointed to our boardrooms and we are also looking at what further work the government can do to help business achieve this.

Employment Legislation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the items of employment legislation, including delegated legislation, introduced by her Department since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In its first term (1997–2001), the Government introduced a foundation of minimum standards in the workplace. Every employee now has, for example, the right to a minimum wage, paid holidays, rest breaks, time off for family emergencies, and a cap on the working week. Trade unions have the right to recognition by the employer where a majority of the workforce want it. Part-time workers have the same rights as their full-time colleagues.
	In its second term, the Government are building on all these measures in their drive to raise productivity, including a range of changes to support families and to make work pay. The Government have improved existing maternity rights and introduced paid paternity and adoption leave for the first time. For example, the payment period of Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance has been extended to 26 weeks. They have also introduced a right for working parents with children under six, or disabled children under 18, to request flexible working. This new right builds on existing best practice and further enforces our aim to promote greater dialogue in the workplace to find flexible solutions which suit both employers and employees.
	Recently both Houses have passed regulations to tackle discrimination in employment on the grounds of sexual orientation and religion or belief, which will take effect in December 2003.

Energy Saving Services

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures her Department is planning to stimulate and develop new and effective markets in energy saving services.

Stephen Timms: Following a commitment made in the Energy White Paper, the Energy Services Working Group has been set up, under the joint chair of my Department, Defra and Ofgem, to look at ways of promoting an effective market in energy services. The Working Group will make recommendations to Ministers in December.
	Membership of the Working Group includes energy suppliers, Energywatch and the Energy Saving Trust.

Entertainment, Theatrical and Modelling Agents

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what legislative changes she proposes to ensure that (a) models, (b) actors and (c) entertainers are not at risk from rogue (i) entertainment, (ii) theatrical and (iii) modelling agents.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Our proposed changes to the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations will provide that model, theatrical and entertainment agents should only deduct sums from workers' earnings from work the agent has found for them. We are seeking to outlaw the practice of unscrupulous agencies that take money from workers in the modelling and entertainment sectors but offer little or no work.
	We also propose to tighten up controls on client accounts so that the earnings of models, actors and entertainers are properly protected.

Grafitti

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions her Department has had with representatives of the statutory undertakers about graffiti on their street furniture or other property; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to her by my hon. Friend the Minister for Crime Reduction, Policing, and Community Safety on 1 July 2003, Official Report, columns 248–49.

Home Safety

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans there are for alternative campaigns and materials following the decision to withdraw free literature on home safety.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It is not true to say that DTI is withdrawing all free literature or from home safety campaigns. What we have done is to focus our limited resources onto areas where we believe DTI can make an impact and that are line with the DTI's aim of promoting prosperity for all.
	The Department continues to provide information to support work undertaken by practitioners in a number of areas including, falls prevention and firework safety. In addition we continue to support RoSPA and others in their work to reduce home accidents.

Home Safety

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the funding used to maintain the Home and Leisure Surveillance System will be transferred to the Department of Health to support the development of their injury data system.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As the decision to stop funding HASS was the result of resource constraints within the DTI, I have no plans to transfer funding to the Department of Health. However, I have offered to support initiatives that the Department of Health might launch to strengthen the surveillance of accidental injury at regional and local levels in the NHS.

Home Safety

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the decisions (a) to scrap the Home and Leisure Surveillance Systems and (b) to withdraw free literature on home and home safety campaigns.

Gerry Sutcliffe: On 2 May 2003, my hon. Friend the then Minister for consumer affairs, announced that the DTI will no longer collect statistics on the causes and nature of home and leisure accidents. Following increased pressure on resources and the need to focus on the Department's core priorities, hard decisions had to be made on what to stop. The collection of accident statistics did not fit with these priorities.
	It is not true to say that DTI is withdrawing all free literature or from home safety campaigns. What we have done is to focus our limited resources onto areas where we believe DTI can make an impact and that are in line with the DTI's aim of promoting prosperity for all. The Department continues to provide information to support work undertaken by practitioners in areas such as falls prevention and fireworks safety.

Ink Cartridges

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason used ink cartridges are classed by her Department as consumables rather than recyclable waste; and what assessment she has made of the impact of that classification on (a) the amount of waste going to landfill, (b) the cartridge recycling industry and (c) the cost of cartridges.

Stephen Timms: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 10 June 2003, Official Report, columns 762–63.

Insolvency Service

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Qualified Insolvency Practitioners are employed by the Insolvency Service.

Gerry Sutcliffe: None.

Insolvency Service

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employees there were in the Insolvency Service in each year since 1997; and how many, in each year, have been on contracts of 12 months or less.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The numbers of staff employed in the Insolvency Service is published in the agency's Annual Report and Accounts. Due to an upgrade of IT systems information about staff employed on contracts of 12 months or less will not be available until August 2003.

Iraq

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what loans were made by the Government to the Government of Iraq since 1979; how much has been repaid; how much is still owed; and if she will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The DTI has not been party to any Government to Government loans between the UK and Iraq. However, unrecovered claims resulting from ECGD insuring UK exports or guaranteeing related commercial loans prior to 1991 on Iraq currently amount to £623million.

Motor Vehicle Prices

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking to reduce the price of new motor vehicles.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The supply of New Car Order 2000 came into force on 1 September 2000 following a Competition Commission monopoly inquiry. One of the main provisions of the order is designed to ensure that manufacturers do not discriminate unfairly between discounts for fleet customers and dealers. The Office of Fair Trading is responsible for monitoring compliance with the order.
	The Alliance and Leicester, in conjunction with What Car?, publishes a monthly survey of new car prices. The survey published in May 2003 showed that prices of new cars had fallen by 9.47 per cent between April 2000 and April 2003.
	Many factors affect relative car prices such as the exchange rate and the degree of competition in the market.

National Minimum Wage

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the cost to employers of introducing the minimum wage to (a) 17-year-olds and (b) 16 and 17-year-olds at (i) the youth rate and (ii) the adult rate; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 3 July 2003
	In forming its minimum wage policy, the Government takes into account the recommendations of the independent Low Pay Commission. The Commission presented their fourth report to the Government in March 2003.
	In that report, the Commission recommended that they should be asked to consider the possible introduction of a minimum wage rate for 16 to 17-year-olds. The Government accepted this recommendation and has invited the Commission to look at this issue in parallel with a wider government review looking at education and training policy and the system of financial support for young people. The cost to employers will be one factor the Commission will wish to consider. The Commission have been asked to report by the end of February 2004 and we will of course consider their report very carefully.

Office for Civil Nuclear Security

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the second annual report from the Director of the Office of Civil Nuclear Security was published; and what steps have been taken to publicise its release.

Stephen Timms: The second annual report from the Director of Civil Nuclear Security was published on Wednesday 26 June 2003. The publication was posted on the Department of Trade and Industry's website. A press release was issued on 27 June regarding the publication, and this is also available on the DTIs website.

Office for Civil Nuclear Security

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the two security breaches at nuclear sites referred to at paragraph 53 of the annual report of the Director of Civil Nuclear Security on the State of Security in the Civil Nuclear Industry and the Effectiveness of Security Regulation, April 2002-March 2003.

Stephen Timms: The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) investigations into security breaches are confidential, and I am therefore unable to comment upon them.

Overseas Relocation

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what initiatives her Department has in place to discourage UK companies and businesses from locating facilities and services overseas.

Nigel Griffiths: We believe that the most effective way to discourage firms from moving abroad is to create the best environment for business success in the UK.
	We assist firms in a variety of ways.
	We provide practical advice and support to enable every company to be the best it can be. For example the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS), launched last year, provides expert advice and consultancy to help companies drive up their value added. On average companies who have participated in MAS in-depth consultancy projects have seen added value of nearly £90,000 per year.
	We support firms in the research and development activities that will keep them ahead of the competition. For example, an R&D tax credit for large and middle-sized companies was introduced this year to complement the tax credit for small and medium-sized companies introduced in budget 2000. In 2001–02, the first year for which figures are available, somewhere in the region of 3,000 small and medium-sized companies made claims under the tax credit scheme.
	Each year we invest around £1 billion in support for the businesses that create Britain's wealth. We support the investment work of the regional development agencies for example through regional selective assistance through which we offer selective grants to firms investing in the assisted areas and creating or safeguarding jobs. In England in 2002–03, £934 million of business investment was secured as a result of 192 RSA grants totalling £108 million. This is expected to create over 10,000 new jobs and safeguard a further 9,000. Financial assistance to companies in Wales is a devolved matter for the National Assembly for Wales. Data on financial assistance given under the Industrial Development Act 1982, including regional selective assistance, is contained in the Annual Report to Parliament for 2002–03 which was laid on 26 June.

Public Utilities (Pensions)

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will take steps to prevent public utilities companies from passing on costs arising from their pension fund deficits to their customers; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As with all other economic matters, the issue of cost pass-through to customers is for the independent economic regulators to determine.

Regional Selective Assistance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on Regional Selective Assistance.

Jacqui Smith: The Government is committed to ensuring that its resources are directed effectively to support viable investments in our poorest regions and Regional Selective Assistance forms part of that commitment. Regional Selective Assistance projects were last evaluated in 1998–2000, and the results of that evaluation are available on www.dti.gov.uk/support/rsajf2512001.htm
	We expect to announce in the Autumn the DTF's new portfolio of Business Support products, including regional investment support.

Renewable Energy

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to develop regulatory arrangements to exploit the potential for renewable energy developments in Scotland consistent with (a) Ofgem's statutory objectives and (b) Transmission System Owners' licence obligations.

Stephen Timms: The British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements (BETTA) are currently under development and the Government is committed to bringing forward legislation in time to implement BETTA in April 2005. BETTA will give all renewable generators in Scotland access to a GB wide market and will ensure that the costs of investment in the infrastructure in Scotland needed to meet our renewables targets can be spread across all GB users.
	Ofgem have asked the Government to bring forward the legislation necessary to bring in BETTA because the new arrangements are in line with Ofgem's duties to protect the interests of customers by promoting competition where possible. BETTA will require changes to the licence obligations placed on the Transmission System Owners. All changes to these licences are being consulted on as part of the consultation process on BETTA.

Renewable Energy

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her policy is on improvements to the National Grid as set out in the Transmission Issues Working Group Final Report; what discussions she has had with (a) Ofgem and (b) electricity transmission companies on (i) improvements to the National Grid and (ii) the delivery of renewable energy targets; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: It is clear that the transmission grid has to be modified and strengthened in order to accommodate the Government's renewable energy targets. The Transmission Issues Working Group final report has led to work commencing on the planning studies for measures required to increase the export of renewable energy from Scotland by upgrading the existing network infrastructure.
	The Transmission Issues Working Group is still in existence and meets again shortly. It comprises of representatives from the DTI, Ofgem, National Grid Transco, Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern. Its key areas of interest are the upgrade of the transmission grid to accommodate new renewable energy generation located in Scotland and off the coasts of England and Wales.

Trading Standards Officers (Under-age Sales)

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the work Trading Standards officers do to enforce regulations relating to the under-age sales of (a) alcohol, (b) fireworks, (c) spray paint, (d) air guns, (e) solvents, (f) cigarettes and (g) unclassified videos.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Within the terms of relevant legislation, Trading Standards Officers enforce the regulations in ways suited to local circumstances and priorities, working with other enforcement authorities, such as the police, where appropriate.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what provision has been made by United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the Afghan Transitional Authority to register returning refugees, internally displaced peoples and nomads for democratic elections scheduled to take place in 2004.

Mike O'Brien: The UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) is working closely with the Afghan Transitional Administration to develop a programme of voter registration. Plans are still being finalised but we understand from UNAMA that the national registration process will encompass Internally Displaced Peoples, returning refugees and nomads. The actual process of registration is scheduled to begin in August and run through the winter until March 2004. Subject to security constraints, rural areas, which are less accessible in winter, will be registered first followed then by urban areas.

British Overseas Territories

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which British overseas territories have not complied with the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights on criminalisation of sexual activity between men; and what action he will take to ensure compliance.

Bill Rammell: None. Legislation decriminalising homosexual acts between consenting adults in private is in force in all British Overseas Territories.

Burma

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether EU sanctions against the Burmese junta will be linked to the atrocities committed by the regime against the Karen, Karenni and Shan people.

Mike O'Brien: When the EU Common Position on Burma was strengthened and updated in April 2003, the plight of the ethnic minorities were specifically mentioned in the EU Council Conclusions. Should the EU agree more sanctions against Burma, the Government would ensure that the plight of Burma's ethnic minority groups was fully taken into account.

Burma

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of human rights abuses committed by the Burmese military junta against the Karen, Karenni and Shan people.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 4 July 2003
	Regrettably, we have not seen any substantive improvement in the overall human rights situation in Burma. The Karen, Karenni and Shan have suffered disproportionately. While the military authorities have allowed a delegation from Amnesty International to visit Burma, this has not led to an improvement in the human rights situation. I am especially concerned about the situation in light of recent arrests and detentions in Burma. We will continue to press bilaterally with the Burmese regime and in international fora for a rapid improvement in the situation.

Cyprus

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on British (a) forces and (b) employees from the Sovereign Base Areas visiting the occupied areas of Cyprus. [R]

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	British Forces Cyprus Service Personnel, United Kingdom Based Civilians, authorised UK Officials and their dependants and specified close relatives are permitted to visit northern Cyprus. The procedure for application for a pass to visit northern Cyprus is under review because of recent events arising from the relaxation of the regulations by the Republic of Cyprus and the northern Cyprus authorities concerning cross border travel.

Cyprus

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to promote contact and co-operation between (a) employers, (b) trade and employers' organisations and (c) trades unions in the government-controlled and occupied areas of Cyprus. [R]

Denis MacShane: Our High Commission in Nicosia encourages contact and cooperation, and free discussion of issues relating to the Cyprus Problem, within and between civil organisations on both sides of the Green Line in Cyprus.

Iraq

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any Government has failed in its obligations to provide information it holds to the International Atomic Energy Agency about Saddam Hussein's regime's attempts to obtain uranium for Africa in the last five years.

Denis MacShane: holding answer 3 July 2003
	We encouraged all states to share any information that they had with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
	There is no requirement for the IAEA to inform us of who has, and who has not, provided information to them.

Iraq

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many mass grave sites have been discovered in Iraq since the start of the recent conflict; and what steps are being taken by the occupying powers to (a) protect and secure the sites, (b) identify the victims and (c) bring criminal charges against the perpetrators.

Bill Rammell: To date 86 mass graves have been reported. Approximately 50 have been, or are currently, under investigation by coalition forces, who have been tasked with securing and protecting evidence of legacy crimes.
	We have sent a team of nine UK forensic experts to Iraq to investigate legacy crimes and mass graves. We are currently studying their recommendations for a long-term strategy for dealing with forensically important sites in Iraq and for further UK assistance in this area.
	We have always believed that those who have been responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes should be brought to justice. We believe it should be for the Iraqi people to decide how to bring those responsible to justice, with suitable international help.

North Korea

Alice Mahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what agreement was reached in the recent discussions in Madrid between the UK and 10 other countries regarding the possible interdiction of ships and planes from North Korea and other countries; whether the agreement has been published; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Bill Rammell: The discussion, which took place on 12 June 2003, was an initial meeting of allies to establish the group and to share ideas for taking forward measures for interdiction. No formal agreements were concluded, except that the group would continue to meet regularly.

North Korea

Alice Mahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the policy of constructive engagement with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that led to the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea.

Bill Rammell: The UK established diplomatic relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in December 2000 and opened an Embassy in Pyongyang in July 2001. Our contacts with the DPRK government in the period leading up to these decisions convinced us that it made sense to encourage the DPRK's integration into the international community, rather than see it remain isolated. Our diplomatic relationship has allowed us to keep open channels of communication which enable us to address the DPRK authorities frequently and directly on issues of international concern, pre-eminently non-proliferation and human rights. But we have told North Korea that there can be no normal relationship until the nuclear issue has been resolved.

North Korea

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with Ministers from (a) North Korea and (b) China with respect to human rights in North Korea; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Our establishment of diplomatic relations and an embassy in North Korea enable us to use official channels to raise human rights issues, including religious persecution, at regular intervals. Most recently, I discussed the human rights situation in North Korea with DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon during his visit to London in May. The UK also supported a resolution at this year's UN Commission on Human Rights. The resolution, which was adopted by a wide margin on 16 April, urges North Korea to co-operate with the UN human rights mechanisms.
	We regularly raise the issue of North Korean refugees with the Chinese, including at the biannual UK/China Human Rights Dialogue. At the last round of the Dialogue, on 21 November 2002, we urged China to allow the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) access to the border areas and to observe its obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention. We will continue to encourage greater co-operation between China and UNHCR on this issue.

Israel

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with colleagues in the European Union concerning the imposition of sanctions on Israel if Phase I of the road map for Peace is not adhered to.

Bill Rammell: There is no formal proposal for the EU to consider sanctions. The idea of sanctions has been discussed before but there has not been a consensus in favour. Israel and the Palestinian Authority should build on the recent ceasefire and withdrawal from Gaza and Bethlehem and meet their obligations under Phase I of the roadmap. We are devoting our efforts to encouraging them to do so.

Staff Costs

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff the Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which the Department is responsible had in each year since 1997; and what the cost of those staff was in each of those years.

Mike O'Brien: The number of staff and the cost of those staff for which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and each agency and non-departmental body it is responsible for in each year since 1997 are as follows:
	
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 FCO (staff) 5,930 5,594 5,523 5,620 5,737 6,054 
			 £000,000 161.4 162.9 170.7 185.3 192.5 212.8 
			
			 Agency—Wilton Park 41 44 47 47 53 55 
			 £000 981 1,035 1,095 1,305 1,478 1,652 
			   
			 NDPBs:   
			 Westminster Foundation for Democracy 6 6 7 9 9 11 
			 £000 196 214.3 260.6 315.1 331.1 437.1 
			 British Association for Central/Eastern Europe 4 4 4 4 4 4 
			 £000 125.1 124.4 124.2 137.5 140.1 149.2 
			
			 British Council 6,594 6,961 7,352 7,316 7,379 7,298 
			 £000,000 120.2 125.5 134.4 141.3 143.8 148.2 
			
			 Great Britain—China Centre 4 4 5 5 5 5 
			 £000 108.6 120 133.7 137.7 144.5 141

Zimbabwe

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 25 June 2003, Official Report, column 815W, on Zimbabwe, if the British Government will assume responsibility for paying the pensions while the situation exists; what help is available to those pensioners in the UK who are not in receipt of their pensions; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: Responsibility for the payment of Zimbabwe Government pensions rests firmly with the Government of Zimbabwe. That has always been the case. We will continue to remind the Zimbabwe Government of its obligations to make these pension payments in full and on time. Zimbabwe pensioners in the UK whose incomes have fallen below a certain level and have few savings may qualify for income related entitlements, such as the minimum income guarantee. They should contact the minimum income guarantee scheme hotline on 0800 028 1111.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development whether his Department has provided funding to the provincial reconstruction teams for Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: DFID has allocated £2 million as its contribution towards the UK Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) currently deploying to Mazar-e-Sharif. This funding is initially for a two-year period. It includes the cost of seconding a development advisor to the team and a budget for development projects in the local area.
	DFID is ready to make a similar contribution to another PRT, probably led by the US.

Botswana

Angus Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment the Department has made of the (a) humanitarian, (b) economic and (c) cultural impact of forced removals of tribal groups from their tribal homelands in Botswana; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Last year DFID commissioned a study on the situation of the San in Botswana and options for responses by the international community. The study, which has been placed in the House of Commons Library, sought to address the situation of the San in the context of broader poverty reduction issues in Botswana. We have shared it with the Government of Botswana and are now discussing with them how the conclusions of the study relate to their overall approach to poverty reduction.

Performance Targets

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how much the Department for International Development spent in each year since 2001 on the (a) Performance Reporting Information System for Management, (b) Multilateral Organisations' Performance Assessment Initiative and (c) Performance Assessment Network; if she will list the titles of their documents concerning the Department for International Development; and if he will place the documents in the Library.

Hilary Benn: The following amounts were spent on the Performance Reporting Information System for Management (PRISM):
	
		
			 Financial year £ 
		
		
			 2001–02 482,000 
			 2002–03 306,000 
		
	
	As both the Multilateral Organisations' Performance Assessment Initiative and the Performance Assessment Network are discussion groups it is not possible to identify a specific allocation of funding for these activities. There are no official documents relating to either PRISM or these two discussion groups.

Russia

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how many street children there are in Russia; in which Russian republics they are; and how many street children there are in each republic.

Hilary Benn: There are no official statistics on street children in Russia and therefore no regional breakdown. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Development estimates that in 2002 there were approximately 10,100 street children in Russia. This is derived from records of the number of children admitted to state social care institutions in 2002.

Russia

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how much aid his Department gives to tackle the problem of street children in Russia; who this money is given to; and what the money is spent on.

Hilary Benn: DFID has two projects at regional level which support families and children at risk, including street children. These are:
	"Children at Risk in Sverdlovsk Oblast". The project is being implemented by Everychild at a cost of £784,000. The project's duration is three and a half years, ending in September 2003; and
	"Families and Children at Risk". This is a new project in Leningrad Oblast, with an expected value of £1,500,000 from autumn 2003 to the end of 2005. The implementing agency is yet to be determined.
	Both projects provide technical assistance in the form of consultancy advice, training and study tours. The main beneficiaries are regional and local government administrations, and state and non-governmental organisations providing social services.

TREASURY

Budget Surplus

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) actual and (b) projected surplus is on the current budget; what the average surplus has been since 1999–2000; what the cyclically adjusted surplus is on the current budget; and what the public sector net debt is as a percentage of GDP from 2001 to 2008 (estimated).

Paul Boateng: I refer my hon. Friend to Table 2.7 of Budget 2003 (HC 500, Session 2002–03).

Child Care Tax Credits

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much fraudulent claims for child care tax credit cost the Exchequer in each year since it was introduced.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue's compliance strategy for new tax credits, which has been informed by the Department's experience with WFTC & DPTC including the study of a sample of WFTC and DPTC awards, will be placed in the House of Commons Library later this year.

Equitable Life

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to publish the Penrose report on Equitable Life in full as soon as it is received.

Paul Boateng: Lord Penrose's report will be published as soon as practicable after it is received.
	It is the Government's intention to publish Lord Penrose's report in full if it is at all possible to do so. However, parts of the report may be subject to legal and commercial confidentiality restrictions. For example, it is a criminal offence for confidential information received by regulators in the course of their duties to be disclosed to a third party except under certain, narrowly specified, conditions.

Financial Services Authority

Sue Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidelines his Department has issued regarding the appointment of directors to the Board of Directors of the Financial Services Authority.

Paul Boateng: Schedule 1 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 states that the Treasury must appoint members to the FSA board. Treasury Ministers volunteered to follow The Commissioner for Public Appointments code of practice and adhere to these rules in making non-executive board appointments.

Financial Services Authority

Sue Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the directors of the Financial Services Authority and their occupations.

Paul Boateng: A list of the directors of the FSA board and their occupations can be found on pages 120 and 121 of the 2002/03 FSA annual report.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the total amount of money lost through fraud in the system of tax credits for the latest year for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue's compliance strategy for new tax credits, which has been informed by the Department's experience with WFTC and DPTC including the study of a sample of WFTC and DPTC awards, will be placed in the House of Commons Library later this year.

Tax Credits

Michael Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many calls have been fielded by the working tax credit and child tax credit helpline in each month since April 2002.

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answers of 10 February 2003, Official Report, column 616W, on the tax credit helpline, if he will estimate the number of (a) calls received and (b) calls handled by the helpline in (i) February, (ii) March and (iii) April.

David Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many calls to the Inland Revenue's children's tax credit helpline have been abandoned (a) in total and (b) in each week since 1 April 2003.

Patsy Calton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average number of calls to the public helpline from those applying for or querying tax credits was each week in the past two months.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 12 may 2003
	The following table shows the number of calls to the child and working tax credits helpline for Great Britain that were (i) received, (ii) handled and (iii) abandoned in each month since January 2003. These figures are based on a common set of definitions and are the final figures for these.
	
		Calls to the GB child and working tax credit helpline received, handled and abandoned, January to May 2003
		
			  (i) Received(3) (ii) Handled(4) (iii) Abandoned(5) 
		
		
			 January 2003 851,851 771,464 80,387 
			 February 2003 1,168,131 956,817 211,314 
			 March 2003 2,486,846 1,701,266 785,580 
			 April 2003 2,509,486 1,767,710 741,776 
			 May 2003 1,999,973 1,679,627 320,346 
		
	
	(3) Where the caller selected an option from the call steering menu and was put in a queue to speak to an adviser.
	(4) Where the caller spoke to an adviser.
	(5) That is, received but not handled.

University Funding

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect he estimates the proposed funding system for universities in England will have on the funding criteria for assessing payments under the Barnett Formula.

Paul Boateng: The student funding system for Scotland is a devolved matter for the Scottish Executive within the overall funding announced for Scotland in the 2002 Spending Review.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Diocesan Financial Performance

Paul Burstow: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what data is (a) collected and (b) published by the Church Commissioners concerning the financial performance of each diocese.

Stuart Bell: None. However, the Archbishops' Council receives copies of the published financial statements of each diocese. The council, in line with its responsibility to monitor the overall financial needs and resources of the Church, is in regular dialogue with dioceses about a wide range of financial issues and the Commissioners take part in this dialogue as appropriate.

ADVOCATE-GENERAL

Supreme Court

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Advocate-General what plans she has to meet with (a) Scottish Law Lords, (b) the judiciary in Scotland, (c) the Law Society of Scotland and (d) the Faculty of Advocates to discuss the proposals for a Supreme Court.

Lynda Clark: The policy responsibility for a Supreme Court rests with my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. He has stated that he intends to publish a consultation paper on 14 July 2003 containing proposals for a Supreme Court. The consultation period will run into November 2003 and the Government will be consulting very widely. I routinely meet many lawyers qualified in Scots law as well as English law in the course of my work and discuss current issues.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British special force troops remain in Afghanistan.

Adam Ingram: It is Government policy not to comment on the United Kingdom Special Forces, therefore I am withholding this information under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, which covers defence, security and international relations.

Afghanistan

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on Afghan heroin production levels (a) before and (b) since the invasion by coalition forces; what steps are being taken by British forces to reduce heroin production; and how effective these steps have been.

Adam Ingram: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which conducts an annual survey into the level of opium poppy production in Afghanistan, has reported levels of production as follows:
	
		
			  Tonnes 
		
		
			 2000 3,300 
			 2001 185 
			 2002 3,400 
		
	
	We are engaged in helping to train the Afghan Transitional Administration's security forces. By doing so, we help to create the structures by which the Afghans themselves can implement more effectively President Karzai's commitment to deal with the drugs trade in his country.

Armed Forces Personnel

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 9 June 2003, Official Report, column 649W, on armed forces personnel, what percentage of (a) Naval Service, (b) Army and (c) Royal Air Force personnel are immediately available for operational duties.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 4 July 2003
	"Immediate availability" for operational duties is subject to the same factors that I set out in my answer to the hon. Gentleman of 9 June 2003, Official Report, columns 648–49W, including particularly the nature of the operation and the severity of the threat. It is, therefore, impractical to refer to a specific percentage.

Civilian Aircraft

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times each month in the past three financial years civilian aircraft have been chartered by the MOD; what types of aircraft were involved on each occasion; from which companies they were chartered; and what the cost of each of these charters was.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 16 May 2003, Official Report, column 442W, the answer I gave on 20 May 2003, Official Report, columns 673–74W to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin), the answers I gave on 2 June 2003, Official Report, columns 285–86W and 1 July 2003, Official Report, columns 198–99W to the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch) regarding commercial air charter. The further details now sought could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Euro Roadshow

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the events he plans to attend as part of the Government's euro roadshow.

Ivor Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 20 June 2003, Official Report, columns 458–59W by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury to the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard).

Defence Logistics Organisation

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Defence Logistics Organisation spent on preparations for the war in (a) Kosovo and (b) Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) was launched in April 2000. Therefore, figures for preparations for the war in Kosovo are not available in the format requested. The figures for DLO expenditure for continuing operations in Afghanistan are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2001–02 83 
			 2002–03(6) 135 
		
	
	(6) These figures reflect resource accounting principles and comprise mainly running costs. Figures for Financial Year 2002–03 are provisional pending finalisation of the Departmental Resource Accounts.

Emergency Airlift Capacity

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements his Department has in place with civilian airlines to provide emergency airlift.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has no standing arrangements for the use of civilian airlines to provide emergency airlift. In the event of an emergency, Royal Air Force military aircraft would be considered first. There could also be occasions where other nations' military aircraft could be used. Where civilian aircraft were required, they would be acquired from the commercial market place.

34 Field Hospital

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what requests were made during the recent conflict in Iraq by 34 Field Hospital for (a) paediatric modules and (b) pralidoxime for use against chemical poisoning; when the requests were made; what the response was to the requests; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: 34 Field Hospital made a request for pralidoxime on 23 March 2003, which was turned down as the drug was already available in Chemical Warfare Treatment Modules issued on 22 March 2003. 34 Field Hospital made in the region of 11 requests for paediatric modules during the recent conflict, of which only one was denied because the module requested did not exist.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the coalition's estimate is of the number of deaths of Iraqi military personnel as a consequence of the war.

Adam Ingram: We have no means of ascertaining the numbers of military or civilian lives lost during decisive military operations in Iraq, and have therefore made no such estimate.

Iraq

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money has been paid to UK forces personnel who have served on Operation Telic in respect of Local Overseas Allowance and Longer Separated Service Allowance payments.

Adam Ingram: The majority of personnel deployed on Operation Telic benefited from the Operational Welfare Package (OWP), as opposed to LOA, and were also paid either the Longer Service Separated Allowance (LSSA) or in the case of Royal Navy personnel the Longer Service at Sea Bonus (LSSB). The current tiered rates of LSSA are Basic rate £5.39, Middle rate £8.43 and Higher rate £11.49 per qualified person per day, taxable. The current tiered rates of LSSB are £4.05, £7.74 and £10.32 per qualified person per day, taxable. LSSB has different qualifying criteria and hence the different tiered rates.
	Full rates of LOA are not paid when personnel are in receipt of the OWP. However, those individuals deployed from permanent overseas bases which attract LOA (such as Germany) retained residual rates of LOA for their permanent duty station throughout the operational deployment. The specific rates of residual LOA paid to each entitled Serviceman or woman are based on his/her rank, marital status and permanent overseas duty station.
	Accurate total cost data is not held centrally in a readily available format and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Iraq

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the contraction, spread and treatment of (a) severe diarrhoea and (b) cholera among the troops in Iraq.

Ivor Caplin: There have been no cases of cholera among United Kingdom personnel in Iraq. Diarrhoeal diseases have occurred at a level commensurate with a large-scale deployment to a country such as Iraq. Most incidents have been viral and caused by a number of factors such as flies, personnel living in close proximity to each other and lapses in individual personal hygiene. Systems are in place to ensure food safety and to promote personal hygiene.

Iraq

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action he is taking to ensure that evidence of human rights abuses in Iraq during Saddam's regime is (a) protected and (b) collected.

Adam Ingram: The United Kingdom Government continue to believe that those who have been responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Iraq should be brought to justice.
	UK forces have been tasked with securing and protecting evidence of legacy crimes as they encounter it; to hand over to the relevant prosecuting authority at the appropriate time. The forum for these prosecutions has yet to be determined.

Iraq

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) provisional budget in September 2002, (b) the finalised budget and (c) final expenditure of the Defence Logistics Organisation for Operation Telic was; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: There was no budget set for the Defence Logistic Organisation for operations in Iraq.
	It will be some time before we are able to assess fully the condition of all the equipment used and the consequent need for repair and overhaul, and so ascertain the full logistic expenditure.

Military Posts (Civilian Recruitment)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilians have been recruited to Ministry of Defence posts in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997.

Adam Ingram: The number of civilian personnel recruited from outside the Department into Ministry of Defence posts in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997 is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 327 
			 1998 269 
			 1999 259 
			 2000 250 
			 2001 225 
			 2002 279 
			 2003 (7)26  
		
	
	(7) As at 31 May

Northern Ireland

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops are stationed in Northern Ireland; and what plans there are to change the number of troops stationed in Northern Ireland.

Adam Ingram: There were some 14,400 regular armed forces personnel (Army, Navy and RAF) deployed in Northern Ireland under the Command of the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland (GOC NI) on 3 July 2003. This figure includes those troops normally under the command of the GOC NI and rear based in Great Britain as well as additional troops made available from Land Command in preparation for this year's marching season. The armed forces operate in Northern Ireland in support of the police who have primacy for security. The level of military support is kept under regular review. Troop numbers may be adjusted to meet the changing security environment as and when it is deemed appropriate and after consultation with the Chief Constable.

Nuclear Weapons

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 450W, what the UK Government's policy is on the intention of the US Government to repeal the 1993 legislation banning the research, development and production of nuclear weapons.

Ivor Caplin: This is a matter for the United States Government.

Republic of the Congo

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what quantity of (a) arms and (b) munitions have been sold to interests in the Republic of the Congo in the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 3 July 2003
	Information on licences granted and statistics of exports of strategically controlled equipment are provided in the Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls. The reports for the three years 2000–02 are available on the Foreign Office website and the Report for 2002 may be purchased from The Stationery Office. An EU arms embargo was declared in respect of that country in 1993 and remains in place.

Sapper Philip Eden

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when Sapper Philip Eden was found dead at Carver Barracks, Wimbish on 22 June 2003; when the gun log records that a rifle was issued to him; at what time he went on duty; when the scene of the incident was secured; when he was pronounced dead; when the police were called to investigate; how many shots were fired; what steps were taken to conduct forensic examination of the weapon; when the next of kin were notified; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The circumstances surrounding Sapper Philip Eden's death are still the subject of a police investigation and it would, therefore, be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.

Sigma Aerospace Ltd.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts Sigma Aerospace Ltd. has with the RAF to service Hercules engines; and what plans there are to move this work (a) to and (b) from RAF Lyneham.

Adam Ingram: The RAF has a contract with Sigma Aerospace Ltd. for the repair and overhaul of T56 engine modules for the Hercules C130K aircraft. This work is carried out at the Company's site in Croydon, Surrey. Sigma Aerospace Ltd. is also sub-contracted by Lockheed Martin to provide 2nd line servicing at RAF Lyneham for the Allison engines fitted on the Hercules C130J aircraft. There are no plans to change the arrangements during the life of these contracts.

Suez Medal

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action he will take to expedite the issue of the Suez Medal 1951–1954.

Ivor Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave on 23 June 2003, Official Report, columns 616–17W, to the hon. Member for Colchester (Bob Russell).

UK Forces Gulf Trust Fund

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been raised by the UK Gulf Forces Trust Fund.

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total value is of the donations made to the UK Gulf Forces Trust Fund.

Adam Ingram: As at 25 June 2003 the total amount raised by the United Kingdom Forces Gulf Trust Fund was approximately £290,000.

Warships

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what technical problems were experienced by (a) HMS Ocean and (b) HMS Cardiff during their deployment to the Gulf region.

Adam Ingram: HMS Ocean had no significant technical problems during her recent deployment to the Gulf. During her deployment, HMS Cardiff had a temporary loss of satellite connectivity. This defect was rectified during a programmed port visit. At all times, both ships were fully capable of meeting the challenges of this deployment.

Watchkeeper

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how he intends to ensure that the operation of Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicles in UK airspace complies with Civil Aviation Authority requirements.

Adam Ingram: United Kingdom military unmanned air vehicles including Watchkeeper are regulated in accordance with the Joint Service Publication 550 "Military Aviation Policy, Regulations and Directives". These regulations ensure compliance with CAA requirements for military aircraft operations.

Watchkeeper

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF personnel have been members of the Watchkeeper Integrated Project Team, and in what capacities.

Adam Ingram: To date there have been no RAF personnel serving as core members within the Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicle (TUAV) IPT, which incorporates the Watchkeeper programme. As required, the IPT draws on the advice and expertise of RAF personnel within other stakeholder communities and is also able to draw on the knowledge and experience of an Army pilot within the team.

Watchkeeper

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans that (a) manned and (b) unmanned aircraft will be part of the Watchkeeper programme; what the Civil Aviation Authority's requirements are in terms of the qualifications required for the operation of these vehicles in UK (i) controlled and (ii) uncontrolled airspace; and what the flying qualifications are, including total flying hours, aircraft type ratings and instrument ratings of each member of the Integrated Project Team managing this project.

Adam Ingram: The current proposals by industry to meet the Watchkeeper capability requirement are based on a mix of unmanned air vehicle (UAV) systems.
	The Civil Aviation Authority has issued UAV guidance in Civil Air Publication 722 "Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operations in UK, Airspace Guidance". Which, at Chapter 9, identifies the criteria required for the operation of UAVs in United Kingdom airspace. The Department continues to work closely with the CAA on this issue. The IPT includes key staff with both military and civilian flying qualifications with a total of 102 hours on fixed wing aircraft and 1,397 hours on rotary wing aircraft. For one of the IPT staff this has included 1,000 hours operational flying which qualified for a 'GREEN' instrument rating.

SCOTLAND

Hepatitis C

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from Scotland's First Minister since 13 June 2003 concerning the compensation of hepatitis C victims in Scotland.

Anne McGuire: My right hon. Friend has discussed this matter, along with a number of other current issues, with the First Minister since 13 June 2003.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Ambulance Service

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many requests for ambulances have been made in the last 12 months outside the hours of 9.00 am to 5.00 pm for patients from Kircubbin and points further south on the Ards Peninsula.

Angela Smith: Between 12 June 2002 and 11 June 2003 there has been a total of 189 requests for ambulances outside the hours of 9 am to 5 pm in Kircubbin and points further south on the Ards Peninsula.

Belfast Agreement

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on his plans to establish the review of the Belfast Agreement scheduled to take place shortly.

Paul Murphy: The Agreement provides for a conference four years after its coming into effect to review and report on its operation. The form and content of such a review will require careful consideration. We hope to make further proposals about the review in due course.

Ceasefire Monitoring Body

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he intends to introduce legislation establishing the independent Ceasefire Monitoring Body; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: Work is in progress on the proposal for an Independent Monitoring Body. We hope to reach decisions on a legislative timetable shortly.

Civic Forum

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings of the Civic Forum have taken place in each year since its formation.

Paul Murphy: The following table sets out the number of meetings held by the Civic Forum until 14 October 2002 on a calendar year basis.
	
		
			 Meeting 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Plenary 2 6 4 
			 General Purposes Committee 1 14 8 
			 Communications Committee 0 9 7 
			 Government (renamed Key Issues) Committee 0 7 7 
			 Life Long Learning Project 0 13 8 
			 Anti-Poverty Project 0 11 4 
			 Towards a plural society Project 0 3 7 
			 Creating a sustainable NI Project 0 4 6 
			 Total 3 67 51

Education and Library Boards

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding was allocated to each education and library board for special needs (a) units and (b) schools for the financial year 2002–03.

Jane Kennedy: The Department of Education gives education and library boards a block grant each year from which they are expected to pay for the various services they provide. Within their block grant boards establish their own spending priorities.
	The funding allocated by the ELBs over the 2002–03 financial year was as follows.
	
		£000
		
			 Education board SEN unit costs Special schools costs 
		
		
			 SELB 5,382 (8)9,743 
			 SEELB 2,752 13,708 
			 WELB (9)726 8,350 
			 BELB (10)1,459 (11)16,928 
			 NEELB (10),(12)1,7601 (12)10,003 
		
	
	(8) Does not include costs for special school admin/educational psychology/behaviour support or the Kinnego Centre.
	(9) Does not include premises related costs.
	(10) ncludes AWPU unit costs
	(11) Includes costs for specialist outreach services based at the Special schools.

11+ Examinations

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Government has to introduce an alternative to the 11+ examinations.

Jane Kennedy: I have established a Working Group to provide advice and recommendations on options for future arrangements for post-primary education, including the development of alternative transfer arrangements.
	The group has been asked to report by 31 October 2003. Decisions on future transfer procedures will not be taken until the group's advice has been considered.

Equality/Human Rights Commissions

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what costs have been incurred by the (a) Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and (b) Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in each of the last five years.

John Spellar: The figures available are given in the tables. It is worth noting that the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission superseded the Standing Advisory Committee for Human Rights (SACHR) in 1999 so there are only full-year figures from 2000–01.
	
		The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission -- £
		
			  Costs incurred 
		
		
			 2000–01 923,942 
			 2001–02 1,304,000 
			 2002–03 1,217,250 
		
	
	
		The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland -- £
		
			  Costs incurred 
		
		
			 1999–2000(12) 5,024,000 
			 2000–01 6,116,000 
			 2001–02 7,359,000 
			 2002–03 7,512,000 
		
	
	(12) Includes six months costs for previous equality bodies

EU Committees

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officials in the Department serve on EU committees or working parties.

Ian Pearson: 21 officials from Northern Ireland Departments serve on EU committees or working parties. The breakdown as regards Northern Ireland Departments is as follows:
	Department of Agriculture and Rural Development— 13 officials
	Department of the Environment—4 officials
	Department for Employment and Learning—4 officials

External Reports

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list (a) the title and subject, (b) the total cost to his Department and (c) the commissioned author or organisation of each external report commissioned by his Department in each year since 1997.

Paul Murphy: The information requested in relation to the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland administration has been placed in the Library.

General Practitioners

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients have contacted the GP out-of-hours service based at Bangor in the last 12 months; and how many of these calls involved patients from Kircubbin and other points further south on the Ards Peninsula.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Health Care

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was invested in health care in North Belfast in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: Expenditure in relation to health and social services is collated centrally on a trust basis, and is therefore not available in the format requested. Expenditure for trusts that are located within, or cover part of, the North Belfast parliamentary constituency is provided in the table for each year since 1997. It should be noted that the population of North Belfast would also use services in other trusts outside their geographical area, and similarly persons from outside the North Belfast area would have access to services provided by trusts in the area.
	
		Total expenditure in trusts in North Belfast area 1997–98 to 2001–02 -- £ million
		
			  North and west Belfast community trust Mater hospital trust Homefirst community trust United hospitals trust 
		
		
			 1997–98 83.0 18.5 97.6 73.1 
			 1998–99 88.7 18.9 99.0 70.9 
			 1999–2000 94.0 22.1 108.9 75.2 
			 2000–01 99.0 24.2 118.2 80.9 
			 2001–02 110.7 28.0 130.7 93.7

Home Accidents

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) home accident injuries and (b) home accident deaths there were in Northern Ireland in 2002.

Angela Smith: (a) There were 10,119 people admitted to hospital in 2002 as a result of an accident in the home 1 . This figure does not include people treated at an accident and emergency department or at an out-patient department.
	(b) In 2001 (the latest year for which data is available) 39 people in Northern Ireland died as a result of accidents in the home 2 .
	Sources: 1 Departmental information Return KP22. 2 General Register Office for Northern Ireland.

Joint Declaration

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of the proposals contained in the Joint Declaration published in May (a) have been implemented and (b) are in the process of being implemented; and if he will list them.

Paul Murphy: We are committed to the implementation of those parts of the joint declaration that are not conditional upon acts of completion. Following the meeting of the British-Irish Governmental Conference on 2 July, the two Governments issued a joint communique which set out in an annex a list of commitments to be delivered in the near term. I have placed a copy of this communique in the Library of the House.

North/South Bodies

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent in the implementation of the north/south bodies since October 2002.

Paul Murphy: The information is not available in the form requested.
	The Northern element of expenditure in respect of each North/South Implementation Body for the financial year 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 is set out as follows: The figures are provisional, as the accounts for that year have not yet been finalised. Details of expenditure in the current financial year are not yet available.
	
		
			 Body 2002–03  
		
		
			 Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission 1,005 
			 The North/South Language Body 3,353 
			 Waterways Ireland 2,330 
			 The Trade and Business Development Body 1,088 
			 Food Safety Promotion Board 1,252 
			 Special EU Programmes Body 850

North/South Bodies

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money has been spent on the operation of the North/South Implementation bodies by the British Government in each of the financial years since their establishment.

Paul Murphy: The British Government's expenditure on the operation of each of the North/South Implementation Bodies since their establishment is set out in the table below. The figures for 2002–03 are provisional, as the accounts for that year have not yet been finalised.
	
		£000
		
			 Body 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission 199 431 497 1005 
			 The North/South Language Body 342 2305 2986 3353 
			 Waterways Ireland 0 1237 1931 2330 
			 The Trade and Business Development Body 200 494 1899 1088 
			 Food Safety Promotion Board 0 0 1505 1252 
			 Special EU Programmes Body 50 591 1262 850

Northern Ireland Assembly

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the financial cost of cancelling elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly has been.

John Spellar: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Mr. Browne) to the hon. Member for Belfast, North (Mr. Dodds) on 14 May 2003, Official Report, column 307W.

Opinion Polls

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) opinion polls and (b) other attitudinal research surveys have been carried out by the Northern Ireland Office since March.

Paul Murphy: No opinion polls or other attitudinal research surveys have been carried out by the Northern Ireland Office since March.

Opinion Polls

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent by each Northern Ireland Department on opinion polls and attitudinal research in each year since 1997.

Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, on 13 May 2003, Official Report, column 206W. A further breakdown by Department could be prepared only at a disproportionate cost.

Opinion Polls

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which organisations were contracted to carry out (a) opinion polling and (b) research into the attitudes of voters in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997; and how much they were paid in each case.

Paul Murphy: Organisations which carried out attitudinal research for the Northern Ireland Office are Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, the Northern Ireland Information Service, Ulster Marketing Services and Milward Brown Ulster.
	In relation to the costs for each year since 1997, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, on 13 May 2003, Official Report, column 206W. To breakdown the costs in greater detail would involve disproportionate cost.
	As stated by my hon. Friend, research respondents are classified as "adults" rather than "voters".

Opinion Polls

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent on attitudinal research in each year between 1990 and 1997 by the Northern Ireland Office.

Paul Murphy: Within the Northern Ireland Office in each year between 1992 and 1997 the following was spent on attitudinal research. Information on costs prior to financial year 1992–93 is not available.
	
		£
		
			  Cost  
		
		
			 1992–93 13,212 
			 1993–94 6,667 
			 1994–95 6,933 
			 1995–96 11,750 
			 1996–97 17,377

Opinion Polls

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish the material relating to attitudinal research paid for by the Northern Ireland Office in each year since 1997.

Paul Murphy: Attitudinal research carried out by the Northern Ireland Office Statistics and Research Branch is routinely published in report or bulletin format. Publication is via the Northern Ireland Office Information Service and reports are also made available on the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency websites. This includes all research carried out by the Northern Ireland Office Statistics and Research Branch on behalf of the Criminal Justice Review. This approach is in keeping with National Statistics guidelines.

Opinion Polls

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which (a) political parties, (b) organisations, (c) individuals and (d) other Governments have been given access to the results of the attitudinal research carried out by the Northern Ireland Office in each year since 1997.

Paul Murphy: Attitudinal research carried out by the Northern Ireland Office Statistics and Research Branch is routinely published via the Northern Ireland Office Information Service and is also made available on the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency websites. Access is therefore not restricted in any way. Pre-publication access is granted only for internal briefing purposes and in accordance with strict National Statistics guidelines. These guidelines promote equality of access but recognise the policy of having some privileged early access to support good Government and management. The Northern Ireland Office Statistics and Research Branch also widely disseminates hard copies of its research and statistical findings to groups and individuals with policy and professional interests. Each report is publicised as widely as possible through the media and routinely circulated to political parties, academics and libraries, including the Northern Ireland Assembly and House of Common Libraries. Free copies are available on request.

Planning Appeals (Castlereagh)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many appeals relating to planning applications in the Castlereagh borough council area were received by the Planning Appeals Commission in the past three years; and of these how many were (a) successful and (b) refused.

Paul Murphy: As the Planning Appeals Commission is a tribunal non-departmental public body, I have asked the Chief Commissioner to write to the hon. Gentleman directly in connection with the information requested.

Public Transport (Personal Safety)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures are in place to protect staff and passengers from physical attack on public transport.

John Spellar: Translink advises that it has created dedicated working groups to improve security on buses and trains. It has a widely promoted scheme under which it offers a £1,000 reward for information on attacks which leads to a prosecution and proactively, Translink staff liaise closely with local community representatives and the police in an attempt to reduce attacks and general anti-social behaviour.
	Translink also advises that security features within the Translink fleet include CCTV, driver protection screens, specially strengthened windows in the driver's cab area and double glazing over the rest of the vehicle. Communication systems also enable bus and train drivers to liaise with Central Control staff regarding potential and actual incidents.

Rheumatoid Arthritis (Benefits)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people received disability living allowance and related benefits as a result of rheumatoid arthritis in the last three financial years.

John Spellar: The exact information sought is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	The numbers of persons in receipt of disability related benefits, where the main disability recorded was arthritis, whether rheumatoid or osteo-arthritis at February in each of the last three financial years is listed in the following table.
	
		
			 Financial year Disability living allowance Attendance allowance 
		
		
			 2000–01 2,478 3,217 
			 2001–02 2,395 2,938 
			 2002–03 2,210 2,713

Secondments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals have been seconded to his Department from NGOs, in each case listing (a) from which organisation and (b) dates of secondments, in each year since 1997–98.

Paul Murphy: Within the Northern Ireland Office one civilian was on secondment from the Metropolitan police service during 1999 and up to 31 March 2000. Within the Northern Ireland administration there have been a total of seven individuals seconded from NGOs since 1997–98. An analysis of this by year, organisation and dates of secondment is set out in the following table.
	
		Secondments from NGOs to the 11 departments within the Northern Ireland administration in the period 1997–98 TO 2002–03
		
			  Number of secondees Organisation Dates of secondment 
		
		
			 1997–98 2 NI Voluntary Trust 1/2/97–31/1/98 
			   NI Citizen's Advice Bureau 12/5/97-current 
			 
			 1998–99 1 NI Audit Office 1/2/99–1/2/02 
			 
			 1999–2000 Nil   
			 
			 2000–01 2 NI Audit Office 1/2/01–31/1/03 
			   NI Audit Office 1/2/01-current 
			 
			 2001–02 Nil   
			 2002–03 2 Omagh Independent Advice Centre 30/9/02-current 
			   NI Citizen's Advice Bureau 3/10/02-current

Secondments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil servants have been seconded from his Department to (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, broken down by (i) grade of civil servants seconded, (ii) location and (iii) dates of secondments, in each year since 1997–98.

Paul Murphy: Since 1997–98, 82 Northern Ireland Office staff and 378 Northern Ireland administration staff have been seconded to the private sector, NGOs or other organisations.
	A copy of the analysis of the individual secondments will be placed in the Library.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what preventive action has been taken in Northern Ireland to counter an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Angela Smith: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a serious public health issue and the Department has acted quickly to strengthen its public health surveillance systems and ensure that the health service is prepared should a case occur in Northern Ireland.
	The Department is represented on the National SARS Taskforce which itself works closely with the World Health Organisation. The taskforce agrees all relevant control measures and these are then implemented locally. The Chief Medical Officer contacted all relevant health care professionals on 14 March with detailed information on the symptoms of SARS, and what to do if they encountered a case. Updated guidance based on advice from WHO has been issued at regular intervals since both to professionals and people travelling abroad. The Department has established a SARS section on its website which is regularly updated. It has also provided and made arrangements for posters to be displayed at appropriate points in airports and seaports. There have been no SARS cases so far in Northern Ireland.
	In conjunction with the Centre for Communicable Disease Control (CDSC) (NI), the Department is urgently developing a contingency plan for SARS or other emerging infection. A Northern Ireland taskforce is being established to monitor the situation and to implement the contingency plan. It will meet for the first time on Friday 20 June.

Transport

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what monitoring he undertakes on the usage of existing cycle lanes and routes.

John Spellar: I have asked the Chief Executive of Roads Service to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefit Payments

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Works and Pensions what recent steps the Government has taken to ensure that pensioners are fully informed about the Post Office Card Account method of direct payment of benefits.

Chris Pond: Pensioners are being provided with straightforward information about all of their account options so they can choose the account which is right for them.
	Pensioners who want to continue to collect their money from the Post Office can choose a current account which offers Post Office access, a basic bank account or the new Post Office card account.
	The letters and leaflets being sent to pensioners set out the procedures for opening a Post Office card account. So far over 74,000 pensioners—half of those who have responded—have chosen a card account.
	I am today placing in the Library details of the latest key figures on the progress of conversion to Direct Payment.

Benefit Payments

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what arrangements will be put in place for benefit and pension claimants who do not choose to take out either a bank account or a post office card account.

Chris Pond: Around 87 per cent. of customers already have bank accounts. And for those who do not, new easy to operate accounts, which are accessible at the Post Office, are widely available. Our aim is to have an exceptions service available for those very few remaining customers who are genuinely unable to open or operate any type of bank account.

Benefit Payments

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact that the increase in fee-charging ATMs will have on pensioners and those who receive benefits as the benefit system migrates to electronic transfer.

Malcolm Wicks: Customers are being provided with information that clearly sets out their account options as part of the move to direct payment. They will have more choice and flexibility about when, where and how much money they collect.
	Customers have a number of options as to how they access their money including the Post Office, over the counter at banks and building societies, ATMs and via the cashback facilities offered by retailers.

Benefit Payments

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether there will be a formal consultation process on the details of the proposed Exceptions Service for people who are unable or unwilling to have their benefits paid directly into a bank account.

Chris Pond: There are no plans for a formal consultation process.
	The Department will continue to informally consult with a broad range of customer groups on payment options.

State Pension (Overseas Citizens)

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the index-linking of the state retirement pension payable to British citizens living overseas.

Malcolm Wicks: State Pensions paid to people living abroad are index linked if there is a legal requirement to do so or where there is a reciprocal arrangement in place.

Housing Benefit

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement about the prevalence of housing benefit fraud.

Chris Pond: We have introduced the first ever ongoing review of fraud and error in Housing Benefit. The first results will be available later this year. And we have set a firm target to reduce the level of fraud and error in Housing Benefit by 25 per cent. by 2006.
	We are already seeing major successes from our work with local authorities to drive out fraud. Latest figures show that, in the last three years, local authorities have increased the number of prosecutions and sanctions for benefit fraud by more than 500 per cent.

Housing Benefit

Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance he gives to local authority housing departments on the speed of payment of housing benefit.

Chris Pond: Around four million households depend on Housing Benefit for help with their housing costs. It affects work incentives, choice, mobility and personal responsibility. That is why it is so important that all local authorities deliver Housing Benefit to the highest possible standards.
	In March 2002 we introduced national Performance Standards setting out clearly for the first time, the standards of service local authorities should aim to deliver, including targets for speed and accuracy in claims processing.
	To help authorities meet these standards, we offer financial and direct practical support such as the Help Team.
	Where we have concerns about an authority's performance we can arrange for them to be inspected by the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate. Furthermore, where a local authority persistently fails to deliver, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State can direct them to improve.

Housing Benefit

Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to improve the administration of housing benefit by local authorities.

Chris Pond: We are committed to driving up standards of Housing Benefit administration across all local authorities. We have already taken significant steps by giving authorities practical and financial help with initiatives like the new Performance Standards and the Help Team, and we are continuing to build on the measures already in place. Furthermore, we will shortly be announcing the first awards from the Performance Standards Fund.
	We are now starting to see improvement in the performance of many authorities.
	This improvement was reflected in the report of the Local Government Ombudsman for England published last week which showed that the number of complaints about Housing Benefit administration has halved over the last two years.

Poverty Definition

Sydney Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his new definition of poverty will be announced.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his new definition of poverty will be announced.

Chris Pond: The well-received consultation on measuring child poverty we launched last year has engaged a wide range of organisations, academics and young people themselves. We published preliminary conclusions in May and we will announce our definition of child poverty by the end of the year.

Benefit Claimants (Records)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consultations he has had with the relevant trade unions over the decision to privatise the management and storage of sensitive records on citizens claiming benefits.

Des Browne: Officials from the Department have met with representatives from the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) on several occasions over the past year and have also provided documents to them. PCS put forward their views and these were taken into account as part of the decision making process. I have been kept aware of these deliberations at all stages.

Stakeholder Pensions

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on take-up of stakeholder pensions.

Malcolm Wicks: Almost 1.4 million have been sold in their first two years on the market.
	Stakeholder pensions impact on pension provision goes wider than its take-up. Charges on personal pensions have fallen by around a quarter since 1999 to around stakeholder pensions' 1 per cent. a year level. In addition, as an alternative to offering their staff access to a stakeholder pension scheme, some employers have widened access to their occupational pension schemes and others have set up group personal pension plans with an employer contribution. We recognise that more needs to be done to improve take-up of private pensions in general, including stakeholder pensions.
	That is why we have set up an employer task force to develop and promote the employers' role in pension provision; established an independent pensions commission to report regularly to the Secretary of State on how the current voluntary approach to private pension provision is working; are developing an information pack for employers to make it clearer and easier for them to promote the benefits of their pension schemes; are framing initiatives to test the provision of advice and information at the workplace on saving for retirement; and have provided that members of money-purchase pension schemes receive annual illustrations, in today's prices, of what pension they might receive when they retire.
	Research by the Association of British Insurers shows that where an employer contributes to a stakeholder pension scheme take-up by employees is greatly increased.

Basic State Pension

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of men and women do not receive the full basic state pension, broken down by age.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table.
	
		Percentage of men and women who receive a basic state pension but who do not receive the full basic state pension -- Thousands
		
			  All 60–64 65–69 70–74 75–79 80 and over 
		
		
			 All male basic state pension recipients 3,833.4 (13)— 1,204.2 1,040.4 784.6 804.2 
			 Men with less than 100 per cent. full basic state pension 362.3 (13)— 173.2 109.2 47.0 32.8 
			 Percentage of all men in receipt of a basic state pension 9.5 (13)— 14.4 10.5 6.0 4.1 
			 All female basic state pension recipients 6,400.1 1,215.8 1,264.2 1,212.2 1,061.8 1,646.1 
			 Women with less than 100 per cent. full basic state pension 3,197.5 902.2 860.3 670.7 432.5 331.8 
			 Percentage of all women in receipt of a basic state pension 50.0 74.2 68.1 55.3 40.7 20.2 
		
	
	(13) Not applicable
	Notes:
	1. Figures based on a 5 per cent. sample and therefore may be subject to sampling variation.
	2. Figures are shown in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.
	3. The figures do not include any people who receive additional pension or graduated retirement benefit only.
	4. Those on less than 100 per cent. basic state pension include people who are in receipt of 60 per cent. of the basic state pension based on their spouse's contributions. However, widows and widowers receiving a full basic state pension on their spouse's contributions are counted as receiving a full basic state pension.
	Source:
	1. 5 per cent. sample of Pensions Strategy Computer System—November 2002

Basic State Pension

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of raising the basic state pension to (a) 20 per cent. and (b) 25 per cent. of average earning on a (i) gross and (ii) net basis after tax and means-tested benefits.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is set out in the table:
	
		£ billion
		
			  (14)Estimated cost (15)Estimated cost  
		
		
			 Gross Cost 2.3 12.2 
			 Net Cost 1 5.7  
		
	
	(14) Of increasing the maximum rate payable of the basic State Pension to 20 per cent. of average earnings in 2004–05.
	(15) Of increasing the maximum rate payable of the basic State Pension to 25 per cent. of average earnings in 2004–05.
	Notes
	1. The estimates are for Great Britain only and are in cash terms rounded to the nearest £100 million.
	2. The maximum rate payable of the basic State Pension is assumed to increase to 20 per cent. and 25 per cent., of average earnings, this corresponds to £84.55 per week and £105.70 per week in 2004–05. All other payments are assumed to increase proportionately.
	3. Estimates of the value of the basic State Pension are based on the April 2002 New Earnings Survey projected forward to April 2004.
	4. The estimates of the gross cost are based on September 2002 State Pension administrative data, projected forward to 2004–05.
	5. Estimates of savings in income-related benefits are based on the DWP Policy Simulation model for 2004–05. The calculations assume that the start of the Savings Credit is increased in line with the new value of the basic State Pension.
	6. Estimates of tax yield are provided by the Inland Revenue and are based upon the Survey of Personal Incomes 2000–01 projected forward to 2004–05.
	7. To estimate the net cost, it is assumed that additional tax yield and savings in income related benefits and are channelled back into the basic State Pension.

Post Office Banking Services

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with (a) HSBC, (b) the Royal Bank of Scotland, (c) the Halifax Bank of Scotland and (d) Abbey National concerning the provision of banking services in the Post Office; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: None. The provision of banking services at the Post Office is a matter for Post Office Ltd. However, the Government are keen that as many accounts as possible should be accessible at Post Office branches.

European Social Fund

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance he has issued to programmes financed by the European Social Fund which are seeking funding for 2006 and subsequent years.

Chris Pond: holding answer 3 July 2003
	Current Structural Fund programmes, including those funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), have been agreed until the end of 2006. The European Commission is expected to make proposals on the future of the Structural Funds beyond 2006 in its Third Report on Economic and Social Cohesion, which it is due to publish at the end of 2003. It is expected that the Commission will then table draft legislation during 2004. The Department will publish guidance on any funding that may become available after 2006, when legislation is agreed by the relevant European Union institutions.
	ESF partners have been informed of the reform of the Structural Funds after 2006 through the Government's current consultation exercise, which ended on 4 July 2003, and through the ESF website and newsletter published by the Department.

European Social Fund

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to be informed of a decision from the European Union on the timescale for release of the Performance Reserve of the European Social Fund; how much he expects will be released; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: holding answer 3 July 2003
	The European Commission is required by European Union legislation to allocate by 31 March 2004 the 4 per cent. performance reserve for Structural Fund Objectives 1, 2 and 3. The Department is responsible for managing the England Objective 3 programme, which is funded by the European Social Fund and which has a performance reserve of £105 million. The performance reserve will be released if the programme is judged to be successful on the basis of indicators that will be assessed as part of its mid-term evaluation. The Department will submit the mid-term evaluation report to the Commission at the end of 2003. The Department will agree the timing of the distribution of the performance reserve with the Commission in early 2004.

European Social Fund

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the benefits to the UK of the European Social Fund in terms of (a) GDP, (b) employment, (c) skill development, (d) the employment of women and (e) information and communications technologies over the current programme period; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: holding answer 3 July 2003
	All Structural Fund programmes, including those funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), are currently being evaluated in all European Union countries. The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for evaluating the England Objective 3 and Great Britain Equal programmes. It also co-ordinates the evaluation of the Objective 3 Community Support Framework for Great Britain.
	These programmes are part of a system of active labour market policies that, together with steady economic growth, has contributed to 1.5 million more people into work since 1997, of which 850,000 are additional women in employment.
	The evaluation of England Objective 3 will include the issues of employment, skill development, the employment of women and information and communications technologies (ICT). It will be informed by monitoring data, surveys of former participants and companies, and specially commissioned research projects. The latter will include, for example, research into the programme's effectiveness in promoting equal opportunities and ICT training. The evaluation will not examine the benefits of ESF in terms of GDP. While there have been positive results, it is unlikely that the programme is large enough to have a measurable effect on GDP. The evaluation will, however, examine how the programme adds value to domestic programmes, for example, by looking at how it interacts with the New Deal. There is a separate evaluation of Equal, which is testing new ways of combating discrimination and inequality in the labour market.
	The Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government are undertaking similar evaluations of Objective 3 in Scotland and Wales respectively. The Department will bring together the England, Scotland and Wales Objective 3 evaluations, in an evaluation of the overarching Great Britain Community Support Framework.
	The Department will send its evaluation reports to the European Commission at the end of 2003 and place copies in the House of Commons Library.

Minimum Income Guarantee

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of paying the full minimum income guarantee to all people over the age of 75 years.

Chris Pond: The Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) is available to all pensioners over the age of 75 and is currently worth at least £102.10 for a single pensioner and £155.80 for a couple. The cost of paying MIG to those over the age of 75 in 2002–03 was £2.1 billion.
	Notes
	Expenditure figures are consistent with Budget 2003 forecasts.
	Expenditure figures are rounded to nearest £50 million.
	Couples are classified by the age of the older partner.

National Insurance

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 23 June 2003 to the hon. Member for Havant (Mr. Willetts), Official Report, column 629W, on national insurance, how many women have registered the view that they received wrong information which led them to make a decision that did not benefit them; how many cases (a) have been found in favour of the appellant, (b) have been found not in favour of the appellant and (c) are ongoing; and of the cases found in favour of the appellant, how many women have elected to pay full rate contributions for the affected years.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not available.

Occupational Pension Funds

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to compensate people who have had their occupational pensions placed into administration; how many occupational pension funds are in administration; and how many occupational pension funds have been wound up since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, explained to my hon. Friend when they met on 12 June, we are concerned about instances when the employer sponsoring a pension scheme becomes insolvent and the pension scheme winds up underfunded.
	We are very much aware of the serious impact this has on workers and their families. Indeed, it is because of cases like this that we are strengthening member protection and introducing a Pension Protection Fund to protect the long term security of occupational pension scheme members. However, as we have also made clear, while we will listen to constructive proposals we do not want to give false hope.
	Information on pension schemes is held by the Pension Schemes Registry (PSR) that is maintained by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA). The PSR does not collect information about the number of pension schemes where the employer sponsoring the pension scheme is insolvent. Data on the number of occupational pension schemes recorded by the Registry as wound up since 1997 is provided in the table. The figures relate to the position as at 19 March 2003.
	
		
			  Number of schemes that completed winding up 
		
		
			 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998 24,974 
			 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999 7,427 
			 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 8,185 
			 1 April 2000 to 31March 2001 6,119 
			 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 4,731 
			 1 April 2002 to 19 March 2003 3,599 
		
	
	Notes
	1. The PSR is not designed or intended to provide a comprehensive or continuous statistical record of the status of schemes. The PSR registers schemes for tracing purposes and collects the levy from pension schemes, including those in the process of winding up. New scheme data is being reported to the PSR on a continuous basis. Therefore, the figures are subject to continuous revision. Schemes have up to 12 months to notify of any change.
	2. A wound up scheme is one which has notified OPRA that it has completed winding up procedures.
	3. The data in the table relate to defined benefit and defined contribution private sector occupational pension schemes. In addition to data on occupational schemes, the Registry also collects data on personal pension and public sector schemes. These schemes, however, are not included in the table.
	4. The reason the figures for 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998 are so much larger than for other years is that from 1997, the rules governing which schemes had a levy liability were changed—all schemes with two or more members became liable whereas previously, only schemes with two or more active members were liable. So, in 1997, the Pension Schemes Registry issued levy requests to a large number of schemes, only to discover that a number of them had already wound up. All these schemes were recorded as having completed wind up in 1997–98 even if, in fact, they had wound up earlier. Therefore, we know these figures are inflated, but not by how much. This is because the figures were not collected for the purpose of recording the numbers of scheme wind ups.
	Source
	OPRA

Pension Books

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners use a pension book.

Chris Pond: The table shows the breakdown of pensioners claiming Retirement Pension (RP) and/or Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) using an order book.
	
		Number of pensioners paid by order book
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 RP and MIG 163,581 
			 MIG only 1,201,570 
			 RP only 4,279,911 
			   
			 Total 5,645,062 
		
	
	Notes
	1. The figures are current up to 13 June 2003.
	2. Claimants in the RP and MIG category receive both benefits, paid separately by order book.
	3. If a claimant is receiving one combined payment through the income support system for both MIG and RP they will only be shown on MIG and not on RP.
	4. Claimants in the 'MIG only' and 'RP only' categories may also be claiming RP or MIG respectively but do not use an order book for these claims.
	5. Figures quoted are for GB only.
	Source
	DWP Information Centre, Information and Analysis Directorate (100 per cent. data).

Pension Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pension credit personal direct mail packs have so far been distributed; and of that number how many (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful claims have been made.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the oral answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Perth (Annabelle Ewing) on 9 June 2003, Official Report, columns 394–95. The first of the quarterly progress reports on pension credit will be published later in July. A copy will be placed in the Library.

Pension Credit

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures he has put in place to ensure that pension credit will function effectively when it is introduced in October.

Malcolm Wicks: Preparations for the implementation of pension credit from October 2003 are well advanced. We have recruited extra staff and invested in new infrastructure to meet the additional demands of the new entitlement and we are making best use of the phased take-on period leading up to October to prove our systems and learn from experience before the main take-on begins. An existing tried and tested computer system will be used to make payments from October. The freephone application line is already fully operational and taking advance applications. We are also working with our partner organisations at national and local level to encourage eligible people to take up their entitlement. Our phased approach to take-on will ensure that the Pension Service is able to deliver pension credit successfully while continuing to deliver its existing range of services.

Pension Credit

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Blackpool he expects to benefit from the introduction of the pension credit.

Chris Pond: We cannot estimate how many pensioners in Blackpool will be eligible for Pension Credit, but her 7,400 pensioners receiving the minimum income guarantee in October 2003 will automatically receive Pension Credit.

Pensions

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners have been means-tested for income entitlements in (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available for the minimum income guarantee (MIG) is shown in the table.
	
		Income support MIG claimants in Shrewsbury and Atcham parliamentary constituency and Shropshire county, as at February 1997–2003
		
			  Shrewsbury and Atcham parliamentary constituency Shropshire county  
		
		
			 1997 3,000 12,300 
			 1998 2,800 11,800 
			 1999 2,900 7,600 
			 2000 2,700 7,400 
			 2001 2,800 7,600 
			 2002 2,800 8,000 
			 2003 2,600 8,100 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Shropshire county figures prior to February 1999 include 'The Wrekin'. Figures from February 1999 to February 2003 exclude 'The Wrekin' as it is now part of a Unitary Authority, 'Telford and Wrekin'.
	2. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and therefore subject to sampling variation.
	3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and quoted in thousands.
	4. MIG claimants are defined as benefit units where the claimant and/or their parliamentary constituency/county is assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS Postcode Directory and are based on May 1997 parliamentary boundaries.
	Source:
	Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiries, February 1997 to February 2003.

Pensions Payment

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many recipients of state pensions who used a pension book to collect their pension have been written to by his Department to inform them that they must change to a direct payment method; and how many have chosen to have their payments made into (a) a bank or building society account and (b) a post office card account;
	(2)  pursuant to the statement of 11 June 2003 by the Minister for Pensions, Official Report, column 773, when the first report will be placed in the Library.

Chris Pond: Pensioners are being provided with straightforward information about all of their account options so they can choose the account which is right for them.
	Pensioners who want to continue to collect their money from the Post Office can choose a current account which offers post office access, a basic bank account or the new Post Office card account.
	The letters and leaflets being sent to pensioners set out the procedures for opening a Post Office card account. So far over 74,000 pensioners—half of those who have responded—have chosen a card account.
	The first report, containing figures up to the 27 June 2003, has been placed in the Library.

Post Office Card Accounts

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire on 20 May 2003, Official Report, column 753W, on Post Office card accounts, if he has made an estimate of the number of customers to whom he referred who are unable to open or manage an account; if he will list the alternative payment methods which are being considered; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: Around 87 per cent. of our customers already have access to an account suitable for Direct Payment and there is now a wide range of easy to operate bank and building society accounts available. The availability of these accounts at the Post Office, and the Post Office card account will mean that there should only be a small number of people for whom direct payment will not be suitable.
	We will gain better information on specific numbers as customers respond to their invitation letters.
	We are looking to develop an alternative method to pay this group. We have analysed a range of options. However, further research with specific interest groups and customers will inform the final decision. This service will be accessible at Post Office branches.

Post Office Card Accounts

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the statement of 11 June 2003, of the Minister for Pensions, Official Report, column 773, if he will list the client groups that his Department has contacted early on; and if he will make a statement on the order in which client groups will be written to inform them that they must specify a bank or a Post Office card account into which their benefits and pensions will be paid.

Chris Pond: The mailing exercise for direct payment began in October 2002 with four weekly paid child benefit customers and people in receipt of a war pension.
	Since then we have continued to issue mailings to recipients of these benefits and begun to issue mailings to people in receipt of weekly paid child benefit and those in receipt of pensions and some Jobcentre Plus benefits. These include income support, incapacity benefit, industrial injuries scheme benefits, severe disablement allowance, bereavement benefit and widows benefit.
	Jobseeker's allowance customers will be dealt with as part of their usual contact with the Department and will not receive a mailing.
	We will begin mailing customers in receipt of disability and carer benefits, including carer's allowance, disability living allowance and attendance allowance, from August 2003.
	The huge numbers of customers involved in the conversion process mean the changes will be phased over a two-year period. Customers do not need to do anything until they receive a letter from the Department.

Progress2work Scheme

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of the Progress2work scheme on the number of ex-heroin users in employment.

Des Browne: We have introduced our Progress2work programme to provide specialist support to former drug misusers in their search for work. Many of these clients were previously users of class-A drugs, and most report that they have used heroin.
	In the Progress2work Pathfinder locations 364 people have already been helped into work. And we will continue to build on this success with the national roll out of the programme next year.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his Department's regulatory impact assessment procedure; and how many RIAs have been reviewed in respect of the Department over the last year.

Malcolm Wicks: A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) is completed for all DWP regulatory proposals that have more than a negligible impact on businesses, charities or the voluntary sector. These RIAs follow the guidance, "Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment" (revised January 2003), and include details of arrangements for monitoring and reviewing policy proposals and their impact.
	Information on the number of RIAs that have been reviewed by the Department over the last year is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	From this year, the National Audit Office (NAO) has a new role in independently evaluating a selection of RIAs. The Better Regulation Task Force put forward in its annual report (published in February 2003), suggestions of RIAs for the NAO to review.
	The NAO review will focus on the quality of analysis in the RIAs and the thoroughness with which the RIAs have been undertaken. The findings and recommendations of best practice will be fed back to Departments. This will play a valuable part in improving the standard of RIAs.

Sunset Clauses

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to include a sunset clause in all new legislation unless a specific case can be made to exclude a sunset clause.

Malcolm Wicks: The revised RIA guidance, "Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment", was published on 28 January 2003. It advises policy officials to consider time limiting or sunsetting at an early stage of policy development and gives specific examples of where sunsetting may be appropriate.
	The Department for Work and Pensions actively promotes the better regulation agenda and the use of sunsetting where appropriate.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Isle of Man

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of the Isle of Man; and when he next plans to visit the Isle of Man.

David Lammy: My noble and learned Friend the Secretary of State and I have yet to have discussions with the Government of the Isle of Man, but we look forward to doing so. My noble and learned Friend the Secretary of State is presently in the Isle of Man, accompanying Her Majesty The Queen at the Tynwald Day ceremony. I intend to visit the island soon.

Appointments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many appointments he has made since Thursday 12 June; and how many are pending.

Christopher Leslie: The Lord Chancellor has made 67 appointments since 12 June 2003 (two of which were signatures of the Instrument of Appointment), recommended one appointment to HM the Queen (approved) and has sworn in seven Judges. There are 28 appointments pending for the Lord Chancellor to make recommendations to the Queen; five awaiting swearing in by the Lord Chancellor and 348 for the Lord Chancellor to make the appointments (of these 13 are for signature of the Instrument of Appointment).

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, when he intends to reply to the letter to the Lord Chancellor dated 15 May from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Sheila Burns.

Christopher Leslie: My noble and learned Friend the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor replied to the letter on 25 June 2003.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, when he intends to reply to the letter to the Lord Chancellor dated 12 May from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. A. Ali.

Christopher Leslie: My noble and learned Friend the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor replied to the letter on 27 June 2003.

House of Lords

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to remove from membership of the House of Lords those Members convicted of an offence of dishonesty.

Christopher Leslie: I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb) on 30 June 2003, Official Report, column 124W.

Sexual Dysfunction

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of sexual dysfunction on marital breakdown; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: Information is not collected centrally about the impact of sexual dysfunction on marital breakdown.
	Relate, a major provider of relationship support services, provides psychosexual therapy to approximately 900 clients per week in England and Wales.
	Feedback from clients of the British Association of Sexual and Relationship Therapy (BASRT) suggests that those who petition for divorce rarely wish to have this aspect of the breakdown made public. Thus, little authoritative information is available from any source.

Vexatious Litigants

Ian Lucas: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many applications have been made by vexatious litigants for permission to bring actions since 1997; and how many were successful.

Christopher Leslie: The Department keeps no statistical data on the number of applications made by vexatious litigants for permission to bring actions.

Vexatious Litigants

Ian Lucas: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will propose amendments to the law so that applications for declaration as a vexatious litigant are heard in open court.

Christopher Leslie: No amendment to the law is required. Under Civil Procedure Rule sc94.15, such applications are heard and determined by a Divisional Court in open court.

Vexatious Litigants

Ian Lucas: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many applications have been made for vexatious litigant declarations since 1997; and how many were successful.

Christopher Leslie: 58 applications have been made since 1 January 1997, of which 45 have been successful and four are still pending determination.

Vexatious Litigants

Ian Lucas: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many applications have been made for the lifting of vexatious litigant declarations since 1997.

Christopher Leslie: The Department keeps no statistical data in relation to applications concerning orders which have been made under s.42 of the Supreme Court Act 1981.

Young Voters

Mark Oaten: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent representations he has received on votes for 16-year-olds; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: My Department has received a number of representations from MPs and members of the public about lowering the voting age to 16 years. Voting age was one of the issues considered in the Children and Young People's Unit's "Yvote/Ynot?" initiative. At the launch in July 2002 of the report following this exercise, the independent Electoral Commission undertook to conduct a review of both voting age and the age of candidacy. The Electoral Commission's review commenced on 27 February 2003, and I understand that the Commission, as part of its review, will issue a public consultation paper very soon.

PRIME MINISTER

Colombia

Colin Challen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will use the occasion of the meeting he has convened for 10 July 2003 on the subject of Colombia to raise the human rights record of that country.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn) on 3 July 2003, Official Report, column 459W.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister when he last discussed with the US Administration the force levels required (a) to provide internal security in Iraq and (b) to allow British and American forces to provide for their own protection; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I am in regular contact with President Bush on all aspects of the reconstruction of Iraq. We will maintain an appropriate military presence for as long as necessary, providing both internal security and for force protection of our personnel. As far as British forces are concerned, we keep our requirements under review, but we judge that our current force levels in Iraq are sufficient.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister when he last discussed with the US Administration the duration of the mission of British and US forces in the occupation of Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I am in regular contact with President Bush on all aspects of the reconstruction of Iraq. As we have made clear before, we have committed ourselves to the long-term humanitarian, political and economic welfare of the Iraqi people. We will help them to restore effective representative Government for all their people, to regain economic stability, and to reintegrate into the international community. Our Military Campaign Objectives contain a commitment to the withdrawal of British military forces from Iraq when the job is done.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has made proposals to the US Administration for the United Nations to assume greater responsibilities for the reconstruction and internal security of Iraq and for the creation of a new Iraqi Government and representative political institutions.

Tony Blair: President Bush and I made clear our support for a vital role for the United Nations at Hillsborough on 8 April 2003.
	We co-sponsored Security Council resolution 1483, which appointed the UN Special Representative for Iraq and set out the vital role the UN should play in humanitarian relief, the reconstruction of Iraq, and the restoration and establishment of national and local institutions for representative governance.
	The Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, is now playing a full part in discussions in Iraq on the implementation of UNSCR 1483 and is working closely with US Ambassador Bremer CPA, other senior coalition representatives (e.g. UK Special Representative, John Sawers) and emerging Iraqi leaders.
	In addition to the UN's humanitarian and reconstruction work in Iraq, UK, US and UN officials are exploring possibilities for UN involvement in policing, law and order, legal reform, human rights, disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of military forces (DDR), and support for an Iraqi Interim Administration when formed, including help in drafting a new constitution and preparing for elections. We very much welcome the expertise the UN can bring to the reconstruction of Iraq.

Iraq

Gregory Barker: To ask the Prime Minister what steps he has taken to trace the members of the security services who leaked information to the BBC in connection with dossiers on Iraq.

Tony Blair: I have nothing further to add to my previous answer to the hon. Member on 23 June 2003, Official Report, column 616W.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his statement of 18 March 2003, Official Report, column 764, if he will publish the translation which he used of the remarks by President Chirac on which he based his statement that France said that it would veto a second resolution, whatever the circumstances.

Tony Blair: The original French text of the television interview given by the President of France on 10 March 2003 and the English translation are available on the official Elysee Palace website: www.elysee.fr
	The translation of the French President's statement is:
	"My position is that, regardless of the circumstances, France will vote "no" because she considers this evening that there are no grounds for waging war in order to achieve the goal we have set ourselves, i.e. to disarm Iraq".
	President Chirac repeated in a private conversation with me that France would block, by veto, any resolution that contained an ultimatum.

Lord Levy

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the dates of official visits undertaken at his request by Lord Levy since 20 February 2003; and which country was visited and what the purpose of the visit was.

Tony Blair: Lord Levy has not travelled overseas in his capacity as the Prime Minister's envoy since 20 February 2003.

Lord Levy

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister who Lord Levy met during his visits to (a) Washington on 19 February 2003 and (b) Ramallah on 23 January 2003 at his request to update and exchange views of the Middle East peace process.

Tony Blair: Lord Levy undertook both visits in his capacity as the Prime Minister's envoy. On 23 January 2003, Lord Levy met Yasser Abed Rabbo, Nabil Qassis, Sa'eb Erekat and Akram Haniyeh (in their respective roles as Chairman of the Ministerial Reform Committee, Ministerial Reform Committee Co-ordinator, Chief Negotiator and adviser to Yasser Arafat) in Ramallah. Lord Levy met Richard Armitage (Deputy Secretary, State Department) and Elliott Abrams (Senior Director, National Security Council) in Washington on 19 February 2003.

Lord Levy

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister when Lord Levy has met Richard Armitage, the US Deputy Secretary of State, while acting as his envoy; and where each of these meetings took place.

Tony Blair: In his capacity as the Prime Minister's envoy, Lord Levy met Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of the State Department, on 30 April 2001 and 19 February 2003. Both meetings took place in Washington.

No. 10 Downing Street

Howard Flight: To ask the Prime Minister what have been the costs of the administrative functions of 10 Downing Street in each year since 1997.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 25 March 2003, Official Report, columns 125–27W.
	Final figures of total costs of the Prime Minister's Office for 2002–03 are not yet available.

Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to ensure that political opinion in Northern Ireland is proportionately represented in the House of Lords.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Andrew Mackinlay) on 15 January 2003, Official Report, column 632W.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Vehicles

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost was of chauffeur-driven cars used by his Department in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. The cost of chauffeur-driven cars for the Office from 1 June 2002 to 31 March 2003 was £320,666.24

Energy Efficiency

Simon Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to use the building regulations to raise the standard required for new and replacement boilers to the level of the most efficient boilers; and if he will set a target of installing five million condensing boilers by 2010.

Phil Hope: The Energy White Paper published on 24 February 2003 made clear the Government's intention to use the building regulations to raise the standard required for new and replacement boilers to the level of the most efficient boiler types—A and B rated condensing boilers. The White Paper illustrated how the installation of five million such boilers by 2010 could achieve savings of 0.6 million tonnes of carbon per year. This is not a specific target however, and nor is it the upper limit that could be practical as part of the next major revision of the building regulations which the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister aim to bring into effect in 2005.

Energy Efficiency

Sydney Chapman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what revisions to the building regulations are planned by his Department to achieve the energy efficiency savings by 2010, as outlined in the Energy White Paper.

Phil Hope: The Energy White Paper, published on 24 February 2003, announced that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister would start work immediately on the next major revision of the building regulations with the aim of bringing it into effect in 2005. The revision work will, for instance, examine what improvements can be made to the performance standards for building fabric and heating, cooling and lighting systems, and what further work on existing buildings could be brought under control, whilst ensuring the regulations remain technically sound, proportionate, cost-effective and sufficiently flexible for designers.

European Regional Development Fund

Graham Stringer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list by region levels of European Regional Development Fund expenditure for this financial year.

Yvette Cooper: The European Regional Development Fund expenditure for English regions from 1 April 2003 to 3 July 2003 is tabled as follows:
	
		European Regional Development Fund expenditure
		
			 Region £ 
		
		
			 North-west (Merseyside) 8,034,395 
			 North-west 22,301,269 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 15,278,343 
			 London 8,441,250 
			 South-west 10,292,826 
			 North-east 11,725,525 
			 East Midlands 7,470,892 
			 West Midlands 14,896,772 
			 East of England 2,115,548 
			 South-east 1,258,234

KPMG

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many contracts his Department has awarded to KPMG since its inception.

Yvette Cooper: Since the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established on 29 May 2002, there have been three contracts awarded to KPMG.

Regional Assemblies

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of local authority employees to be made redundant as a result of local authority restructuring, following the introduction of regional assemblies; and what plans he has to provide assistance to (a) such employees and (b) local authorities for which such employees worked.

Nick Raynsford: The implications for local authority employees will depend on what boundary and structural changes are involved and on future decisions by the local authorities concerned. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to discuss with the Local Government Association, public sector unions and others, how best to handle transitional matters, including employee issues, in any future local government reorganisation.

Regional Assemblies

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what methodology his Department used to calculate the figure of 50,000 people represented by replies to the soundings exercise into the level of interest in each English region in holding a referendum about whether to establish an elected regional assembly.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister estimates that 53,591 people were involved in the soundings exercise. This number comprises:
	7,132 responses were from individuals in their private capacities;
	28 opinion polls/surveys in which 37,243 people were consulted;
	nine petitions to which there were 1,411 signatories;
	focus groups, votes at meetings, responses to circulars and so on, in which at least 7,800 people were involved.

Regional Assemblies

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which Government Department will have responsibility for any future elected regional assembly; and what his policy is on the accountability of future elected regional assemblies to Government Departments.

Nick Raynsford: The Office for the Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for regional and local government in England and taking forward the referendums that will give the English regions the choice of deciding whether they wish to have an elected regional assembly.
	The members of any future elected assembly will be accountable directly to voters in their region.

Regional Assemblies

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what level of turnout at a referendum on whether to create a regional assembly would constitute the derisorily low turnout, to which the right hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich has referred;
	(2)  what percentage of the electorate voting in favour of an elected regional assembly it is his policy to consider as sufficient to justify the creation of an elected regional assembly.

Nick Raynsford: The Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003 does not set a turnout threshold for referendums about whether to establish an elected regional assembly.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will decide whether to establish an assembly in a region once we see the results of a referendum. We have no preconceptions about the results.

Worthy Down

Mark Oaten: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will make an announcement regarding the site at Worthy Down in Winchester; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 25 November 2002, Official Report, column 2WS. The Defence Training Review identified Worthy Down as a site that was likely to be surplus to Defence requirements. Our benchmark assumption is that the training currently delivered at Worthy Down would be moved to RAF Halton, but this is subject to the evaluation of the proposals that will be developed with Industry. We do not expect to make a final decision on the future of Worthy Down before 2005.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

After-school Clubs

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what type of (a) after school clubs, (b) youth clubs and (c) sports clubs initiatives have been started for (i) 8 to 13-year-olds and (ii) 13 to 17-year-olds in Redcar and Cleveland in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: My Department does not keep central figures on the number, nature and age range of after school and youth club activity by area. It is for local authorities and schools to determine what provision will best meet the needs of the young people in the area.
	We are aware, however, that the Youth Directorate at Redcar and Cleveland are engaged in a mapping exercise of youth activity provision that will be completed by the end of 2003.
	Redcar and Cleveland also receives funding from my Department to provide after school study support opportunities for young people in the area: £352,410 this year through the Standards Fund. Study support can range from homework and study clubs to other activities including sport, the creative arts and cultural activities. Redcar and Cleveland have also received a total of £886,000 from the New Opportunities Fund 'Out of School Hours Activities Programme' and a total of £716,880 from the New Opportunities Fund 'Out of School Childcare Programme'. Again, this can be used to provide a range of activities for young people.

Earned Autonomy (Schools)

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  when he expects to publish the guidance on earned autonomy for primary and secondary schools under the Education Act 2002;
	(2)  whether the forthcoming guidance on earned autonomy will include freedom for schools to set pay rates for (a) teaching staff, (b) teaching support staff and (c) other staff; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: holding answer 30 June 2003
	The Government is considering how most appropriately to extend freedoms for schools beyond a limited focus on the two areas specified in the 2002 Act. In the meantime, all schools are free under the Power to Innovate to make proposals to set pay rates for their teaching staff. Pay rates for school support staff are already set at local level.

Euro Roadshow

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the events he plans to attend as part of the Government's euro roadshow.

Stephen Twigg: Government Ministers will be holding a series of meetings around the country setting out the benefits of our membership of the European Union.

Excluded Pupils

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 25 November 2002, Official Report, column 93W, on school standards, what progress has been made on the survey of the extent to which targets for educating excluded pupils are met; and when the results will be published.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 3 July 2003
	In October 2002, we wrote to local education authorities (LEAs) asking them to confirm that they had made arrangements to provide full-time education for all permanently excluded pupils. All local education authorities confirmed that they were able to achieve the target of providing full-time education for all permanently excluded pupils by September 2002 and all but two currently report that they are sustaining such provision.

Fast Track Scheme

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many recruits there have been to the Fast Track scheme over the last year, broken down by (a) subject, (b) phase of training and (c) previous occupation.

David Miliband: Over 2,000 applications to join the Fast Track teaching programme were received this year, and final selection is still in progress. To date, 298 people have been offered places on Fast Track this year, almost double the number of places taken up last year (161).
	
		Number of applications to join the Fast Track teaching programme
		
			 Subject (16)Number of places offered 
		
		
			 Art 4 
			 Business and Economics 13 
			 Design and Technology 4 
			 English 55 
			 Geography 13 
			 History 29 
			 Information Technology 3 
			 Maths 17 
			 Modern Foreign Languages 24 
			 Music 2 
			 Physical Education 1 
			 Religious Education 2 
			 Science 53 
			   
			 Subtotal—Secondary 220 
			   
			 Subtotal—Primary 78 
			   
			 Total 298 
		
	
	(16) As of 30 June 2003.
	It is estimated that the final number of places offered this year will be between 320 and 350.
	Over half of all new entrants joining Fast Track this year have three or more years' work experience, with around 20 per cent. having had successful careers of 10 or more years in a different field. A wide variety of previous career experience is represented amongst Fast Track teachers, including law, NHS management, the City, academia, the civil service, the armed services and police, and a wide variety of industrial and commercial backgrounds, including electronics, pharmaceuticals and ICT.
	I will write to the hon. Member with detailed information on previous occupations and academic qualifications of new entrants in September, once recruitment for 2003 is complete.

First Aid

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of teachers are trained in first aid.

David Miliband: The Department does not collect this information. The number of first aiders in a school will depend on an assessment made at the school concerned. The Department produced "Guidance on First Aid for Schools" that can be accessed via the website at www.teachernet.gov.uk/firstaid

Freedom of Information Act

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the electronic document and electronic record management systems which have been procured by the public authorities listed in Parts I to V of Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for which he is responsible.

Stephen Twigg: To date, two public authorities have purchased electronic systems for managing records and documents. These are the Higher Education Funding Council for England which has bought Tower Software's Trim system, and the Construction Industry Training Board which has purchased Opentext Livelink. My Department and its other Non-Departmental Public Bodies listed in the Act are in varying stages of procurement.
	Information about systems purchased by educational establishments listed in the Act is not held centrally.

GCSE/GNVQ

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students took (a) GCSEs and (b) GNVQs in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region.

David Miliband: The numbers of students attempting GCSEs and GNVQs in each region since 1997 are as follows. The figures have not been provided for the year period, as there are no GNVQ data available prior to 1997.
	
		Number of 15 year olds attempting GCSEs
		
			 Region 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 
		
		
			 North east 31,424 91,808 30,158 30,084 29,685 30,017 
			 North west 85,821 74,433 81,789 81,730 79,867 63,568 
			 Merseyside — — — — — 16,407 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 60,458 62,859 57,581 56,982 55,898 56,803 
			 East Midlands 50,099 56,450 47,353 47,448 46,641 47,744 
			 West Midlands 64,860 64,770 62,067 62,665 61,146 61,301 
			 East 63,664 49,296 60,785 59,822 60,266 61,545 
			 London 74,967 59,907 71,503 70,670 70,018 70,160 
			 South east 92,002 85,578 87,849 87,935 86,895 89,730 
			 South west 57,281 31,598 54,430 53,944 53,848 54,259 
			 England 580,576 576,699 553,515 551,280 544,264 551,534 
		
	
	
		Number of 15 year olds attempting GNVQs
		
			 Region 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 
		
		
			 North east 4,804 2,271 1,162 803 660 396 
			 North west 9,085 2,645 1,658 1,287 745 176 
			 Merseyside — — — — — 129 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 6,764 2,029 1,785 1,541 821 553 
			 East Midlands 6,538 2,167 1,587 1,137 615 292 
			 West Midlands 10,442 3,733 2,668 2,023 1,433 757 
			 East 5,933 2,468 1,140 1,003 682 269 
			 London 8,019 2,237 1,495 818 520 264 
			 South east 6,926 3,076 1,428 1,478 775 469 
			 South west 5,992 1,824 1,078 1,225 715 429 
			 England 64,503 22,450 14,001 11,315 6,966 3,734

Higher Education

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the annual change has been for each of the last 10 years in the proportions of students from different socio-economic backgrounds (a) entering higher education, (b) completing each year of study and (c) successfully completing a course of study.

Alan Johnson: The available information showing the proportion of young (under 21) people from each social class who enter higher education is shown in the following table.
	
		Age participation index (API)(17)by social class 1991–2001 -- Percentages
		
			  Year of entry 
			 Social class 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 I 55 71 73 78 80 82 79 72 73 76 79 
			 II 36 39 42 45 46 47 48 45 45 48 50 
			 IIIn 22 27 29 31 31 32 31 29 30 33 33 
			 IIIm 11 15 17 18 18 18 19 18 18 19 21 
			 IV 12 14 16 17 17 17 18 17 17 19 18 
			 V 6 9 11 11 12 13 14 13 13 14 15 
			 I-IIIn 35 40 43 46 47 48 48 45 45 48 50 
			 IIIm-V 11 14 16 17 17 18 18 17 17 18 19 
		
	
	(17) The API is defined as the number of UK domiciled under 21 initial entrants to full-time and sandwich courses expressed as a proportion of the averaged 18–19 year old GB population.
	Notes:
	where I Professional, II Intermediate, IIIn Skilled (non-manual), IIIm Skilled (manual), IV Partially skilled and V Unskilled.
	Information on completion and non-completion rates of HE students is published annually by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in "Performance Indicators in Higher Education (HE)", but these figures do not separately identify students by social class. The latest available data for students from all social classes are shown in the following table.
	
		Projected learning outcomesFull-time students starting first degree courses in UK HE Institutions -- Percentages
		
			  Projected Outcomes(18) 
			 Studentsstarting in: Obtained degree Obtained no qualification Other(19) 
		
		
			 1996/97 80 18 2 
			 1997/98 81 17 2 
			 1998/99 81 17 2 
			 1999/2000 81 17 2 
		
	
	(18) The projected outcomes are calculated on the assumption that the progression paths of new entrants will be the same as those for students currently in the system.
	(19) Includes students who obtain undergraduate qualifications other than a degree (e.g. an HMD).
	Figures published in 2002 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that the UK as a whole has one of the lowest non-completion rates among OECD countries.
	The Government are committed to raising the participation rates for people from less affluent backgrounds, and has introduced the AimHigher campaign, which is targeted at raising attainment and aspirations among young people who traditionally would not consider going to university.

Higher Education

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportional change the Government expects in (a) the number of (i) foundation degrees and (ii) part-time study and work-based degrees and (b) the proportion of students choosing to live at home while studying on the basis of the proposals in the White Paper The Future of Higher Education.

Alan Johnson: In the academic year 2002/2003 around 12,000 students studied Foundation Degrees. There are plans to grow that number to 20,000 places by 2005/2006. Discussions are taking place with HEFCE about providing further student places for Foundation Degrees in 2004/2005 and 2005/2006, HEFCE will publish details about this in the autumn.
	Figures published in the DfES 2003 Departmental Report predict that the proportion of part-time students (undergraduate and postgraduate) will be 42.4 per cent. in 2004/05. Work based degrees and not clearly defined and we do not have separate statistics for work based degrees.
	In academic year 2001/02 (latest provisional data), the proportion of higher education students in England and Wales who are eligible for the home rate of loan under the student supportscheme funding arrangements is 21 per cent. This information is not available for future years.

Higher Education

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what fee charging arrangements will be in place for higher education fees levied from Turkish Cypriots visiting the UK for higher education courses, after Cyprus joins the EU; and if he will make a statement.[R]

Alan Johnson: When Cyprus becomes a member of the EU, Turkish Cypriots who are nationals of the Republic of Cyprus and studying on full time first degree courses in Higher Education Institutions in England and Wales, will become eligible for support for their tuition fees.

Local Authority Funding

Iain Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what specific or direct grants have been made by his Department to local authorities for 2003–04 (a) in England and (b) broken down by local authority, identifying whether the grant is (i) ring fenced, (ii) a specific formula grant, (iii) within aggregate external finance and (iv) outside aggregate external finance.

David Miliband: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

Local Education Authorities

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much extra money his Department has provided to each local education authority to help ameliorate the effects of this year's school funding problems.

David Miliband: The funding of schools is a shared responsibility of central and local Government. In 2003–04, there have been a number of very significant pressures on LEA and school spending. Nationally, the additional resources provided for education more than match those pressures. However, changes to the distribution formula for Education Formula Spending, together with the ending of a substantial body of ring-fenced grants from my Department's Standards Fund, have meant that different LEAs and schools have received a wide range of year-on-year increases in overall support for education.
	The department has taken steps through an additional grant of £28 million to ensure that all LEAs have at least a minimum increase of 3.2 per cent. per pupil, in addition to taking account of the effect of the Standards Fund and teachers' pension changes. We have also provided a special grant costing £11 million to 18 London LEAs to help them fund this year's increases in London weighting. The allocations of these grants are shown in the following table. In addition, LEAs and schools will be given the additional flexibility to use their devolved formula capital funding from the Department to support revenue expenditure. The decision to use a school's capital funding in this way will need to be made jointly by the school and its LEA, and should only be taken in those circumstances where failure to do so would lead to excessive instability within that school.
	
		£ million
		
			  Additional support grant London budget grant Total 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 1.128 1.031 2.159 
			 Barnet  0.579 0.579 
			 Bedfordshire 0.135  0.135 
			 Bexley 1.492 0.490 1.982 
			 Bournemouth 0.140  0.140 
			 Brighton and Hove 0.960  0.960 
			 Bromley 0.815 0.594 1.409 
			 Camden 1.168 0.698 1.866 
			 Croydon 1.302 0.695 1.997 
			 Dorset 0.318  0.318 
			 East Sussex 0.110  0.110 
			 Enfield 1.147 0.665 1.812 
			 Essex 1.162  1.162 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 0.886 0.739 1.625 
			 Hampshire 0.278  0.278 
			 Haringey 1.330 1.292 2.622 
			 Havering 1.089 0.475 1.564 
			 Hertfordshire 1.000  1.000 
			 Isle of Wight 0.110  0.110 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 0.288 0.491 0.779 
			 Knowsley 0.736  0.736 
			 Lambeth 1.282 0.391 1.673 
			 Leicestershire 0.835  0.835 
			 Medway 1.295  1.295 
			 Norfolk 1.595  1.595 
			 North East Lincolnshire 0.033  0.033 
			 Plymouth 0.831  0.831 
			 Portsmouth 0.891  0.891 
			 Redbridge 0.903 0.017 0.920 
			 Richmond upon Thames 0.152 0.261 0.413 
			 Slough 0.376  0.376 
			 Southampton 1.016  1.016 
			 Southend-on-Sea 0.358  0.358 
			 Suffolk 0.108  0.108 
			 Sutton 0.503 0.378 0.881 
			 Thurrock 0.308  0.308 
			 Waltham Forest 2.140 0.534 2.674 
			 Wandsworth  1.141 1.141 
			 Westminster  0.818 0.818

Masters Degrees

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many taught Masters degrees (a) were awarded and (b) were enrolled for in each year since 1992.

Alan Johnson: The latest available information is shown in the table. Comparable figures for earlier years are not held centrally.
	
		Numbers of enrolments and awards for taught Masters degrees
		
			 Academic Year Enrolments Awards 
		
		
			 1994/95 126,136 16,823 
			 1995/96 142,665 19,030 
			 1996/97 142,488 19,347 
			 1997/98 141,751 20,951 
			 1998/99 151,510 21,354 
			 1999/00 158,713 22,064 
			 2000/01 164,691 23,142 
			 2001/02 175,665 23,644 
		
	
	Source:Higher Education Statistics Agency

Musically Gifted Pupils

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria the Department employs in assessing parental contributions under the Aided Pupils Scheme for musically gifted pupils at specialist schools; and how housing costs are allowed for.

David Miliband: The Aided Pupil Scheme, part of the Music and Dance Scheme, is an annually assessed means-tested scheme that required parents to make a contribution towards fees according to their means. Gross income from all sources is assessed so that all parents are placed on a similar footing wherever they live. The amount (if any) parents pay is on a sliding scale linked to total income and the scales are constructed so that the least well-off families benefit most. No deductions are made in respect of outgoings such as mortgage repayments, pension contributions and the normal day to day costs of living when assessing a family's total gross income. The method of income assessment ensures that a proper balance is struck between the amount parents can realistically be expected to contribute and the amount of taxpayers' money that is provided for the scheme.

Nurseries (Leeds, West)

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in Leeds, West constituency had places in (a) day nurseries and (b) school nurseries in each of the last 10 years.

David Miliband: The information is not available in the form requested. The available information is shown in the table.
	
		Number of places at day nurseries and children at maintained nursery schools—Leeds local authority area 1994 to 2003
		
			  Number of places Headcount of children 
			  Day nurseries(20) Full day care(21) Maintained nursery schools(22) 
		
		
			 1994 n/a n/a 92 
			 1995 n/a n/a 77 
			 1996 n/a n/a 53 
			 1997 n/a n/a 39 
			 1998 3,500 n/a 46 
			 1999 3,900 n/a 0 
			 2000 5,100 n/a 0 
			 2001 4,400 n/a 0 
			 2002 n/a n/a 0 
			 2003 n/a 5,700 0 
		
	
	n/a = Not available
	(20) Children's day care facilities
	(21) Ofsted
	(22) Annual Schools' Census
	Information on the number of places in day nurseries is not available at parliamentary constituency level. Information on the number of pupils in nursery schools at parliamentary constituency level is not available prior to 1998. From 1998, there were no nursery schools in Leeds, West parliamentary constituency.
	Day care figures for 2001 and earlier years for England and Government Office regions were published in DfES Statistical Bulletin 08/01 "Children's Day Care Facilities at 31 March 2001", which is available in the Library and on the DfES website, www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics. Figures for 2001 for out of school clubs and holiday schemes have recently been revised. Latest child care statistics were published in a report by Ofsted 'Registered Childcare Providers and Places in England, 31 March 2003', which is available on the Ofsted website, www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications.

Pre-Schools

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children have attended pre-schools in each year since 1973; how many pre-schools there were in (a) England and (b) Sefton in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2002; and how many there are in 2003.

David Miliband: The information is not available in the form requested. The available information for 1999 onwards is shown in the tables.
	
		Number of three and four year olds(23),(24),(25) by type of early years education provider—England
		
			 Position in January each year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 (provisional estimates) 
		
		
			 Private and voluntary providers(26)  
			 Number of three year olds n/a 268,800 285,100 283,200 (27)327,700 
			 Number of four year olds 95,100 96,000 101,100 96,500 (27)117,500 
			 Total number of three and four year olds n/a 364,800 386,200 379,800 (27)445,200 
			 Independent schools  
			 Number of three year olds n/a 25,900 27,200 27,400 26,300 
			 Number of four year olds 28,700 28,500 28,300 29,400 28,500 
			 Total number of three and four year olds n/a 54,400 55,500 56,800 54,800 
			 Maintained nursery and primary schools  
			 Number of three year olds n/a 229,900 226,800 223,500 218,500 
			 Number of four year olds 496,400 483,700 482,800 477,700 472,200 
			 Total number of three and four year olds n/a 713,600 709,600 701,200 690,700 
			 Special schools(28)  
			 Number of three year olds n/a 2,300 2,300 2,100 1,900 
			 Number of four year olds 2,900 2,700 2,700 2,700 2,500 
			 Total number of three and four year olds n/a 4,900 5,000 4,800 4,500 
			 All providers(29)  
			 Number of three year olds n/a 526,900 541,300 536,300 (27)574,400 
			 Number of four year olds 623,100 610,900 614,900 606,300 (27)620,700 
			 Total number of three and four year olds n/a 1,137,700 1,156,300 1,142,700 (27)1,195,200 
		
	
	n/a = Not available.
	(23) Headcount of children aged three and four at 31 December in the previous calendar year, rounded to the nearest 100.
	(24) Numbers of three and four year olds in schools may include some two-year-olds.
	(25) Any child attending mere than one provider may have been counted twice
	(26) Includes some local authority providers (other than schools) registered to receive nursery education grants; excludes independent schools and providers not registered to receive nursery education grants.
	(27) Scaled up from the data as returned by providers to all providers of early years education.
	(28) Includes general hospital schools.
	(29) Rounding of components may cause discrepancies in totals.
	
		Number of schools with pupils aged 3 or 4(30)
		
			  Sefton LEA England 
			 Position in January each year:  2000 to 2003(31) 2000 2001 2002 2003(31) 2000 2001 2002 2003(31) 
		
		
			 Nursery Schools 
			 Number of schools 4 4 4 4 514 506 494 471 
			  
			 Primary Schools 
			 Number of schools 86 86 86 86 15,844 15,847 15,868 15,830 
			  
			 Special Schools(32) 
			 Number of schools 4 4 4 3 599 586 584 579 
			  
			 Independent Schools 
			 Number of schools 6 6 6 6 1,509 1,498 1,494 1,441 
			  
			 Direct Grant Nursery Schools 
			 Number of school 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 
		
	
	(30) Includes pupils aged under 3.
	(31) Provisional.
	(32) Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools
	
		Nursery Schools and Early Years Private and Voluntary Providers—England and Sefton local education authority area
		
			  Number of nursery schools 
			 Position in January each year England Sefton 
		
		
			 1999 522 4 
			 2000 516 4 
			 2001 508 4 
			 2001 496 4 
		
	
	Additionally, there were 19,400 private and voluntary providers in England in January 2003, of which 80 were located in the Sefton local education authority area.
	School information prior to 1999 is available in the Statistical Volume 'Schools in England 2002', a copy of which is available from the Library. The latest figures on three and four-year-olds in early years education providers were published by the Department in the Statistical First Release "Provision for Children Under Five Years of Age in England: January 2003 (provisional) (15/2003)" in May 2003. Copies of both are available from the Library and electronically from the Department's website (www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics).

School Fires

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many fires there have been in schools in each of the last three years.

David Miliband: The Department does not collect these figures.

School Fires

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have had to close for a period of time owing to fire in each of the last three years.

David Miliband: The Department does not have this information. However, the issue of fire safety is of primary importance.
	If a fire should happen in a school, the Department's primary concern is for the safety of pupils, teachers and other users. Regulation 17 of the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 requires that every part of a school building, and of the land provided for a school, shall be such that the safe escape of the occupants in case of fire is reasonably assured. Schools are also covered by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and by subsequent related regulations. These include aspects of fire safety.
	To help schools manage fire safety, the Department published "Managing School Facilities Guide 6, Fire Safety", in 2000. This offers guidance on how to minimise the risks of both accidental and malicious fires occurring, and advises on how to identify hazards and carry out risk assessments. It also gives advice on training and on fire detection and alarm systems.
	In addition, officials from the Department sit on the Arson in Schools Working Group, a group of experts representing the insurance industry, the fire and police services, local authorities and Government Departments. The group exists to research and promote ways of reducing malicious fires in schools. One of its outputs has been the publication of the guide "How to Combat Arson in Schools", copies of which have been sent to all schools in the UK.

School Funding (Suffolk)

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent correspondence he has received from Suffolk county council about the funding of schools in Suffolk in 2003–04.

David Miliband: My right hon. Friend has received a number of letters from the local authority and schools in Suffolk about the funding of schools. He made a statement to the House on 15 May 2003, Official Report, column 13WS.

School Inspections

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 7 May 2003, Official Report, columns 693–94W, on school inspections, what percentage of year 11 lessons inspected by Ofsted in 2001–02 were set by ability in (a) specialist and (b) non-specialist comprehensives.

David Miliband: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of his letter in the Library.

Secondary Schools

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many responses his Department has received to the 2003 staffing survey; how many responses his Department had received by 16 April; and to how many schools the survey was originally sent.

David Miliband: The Secondary Schools Curriculum and Staffing Survey was originally sent to a sample of 833 maintained secondary schools in England. When the statistical first release August 2003 "Secondary Schools Curriculum and Staffing Survey: November 2002 (provisional)" was published on 16 April 2003 180 schools had returned the survey. Since publication a further 25 schools have returned the survey, bringing the total number of schools to return the survey to date to 205.
	As I informed the House on 17 March, it is the Government's intention to publish final results of the survey in September. We remain on course to meet this target.

School Inspections (Wandsworth)

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in the London borough of Wandsworth have undergone an Ofsted inspection within the last 12 months.

David Miliband: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of his letter in the Library.

Student Loans

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost was to the Treasury of providing income contingent loans for higher education students in each year since 1998–99.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 30 June 2003
	The Secretary of State for Education and Skills only has responsibilities for student loans paid to higher education students domiciled in England and Wales therefore this answer provides data relating to them.
	The resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) costs to the Treasury for income contingent loans are shown in the table:
	
		Resource Accounting and Budgeting costs : financial year 1998–99 to 2001–02: England and Wales -- £ millions
		
			 Financial Year RAB Charges 
		
		
			 1998–99 151 
			 1999–2000 491 
			 2000–01 661 
			 2001–02 822 
		
	
	The fall in the HM Treasury cost of capital rate from six per cent. to 3.5 per cent. which took effect on 1 April 2003 will reduce the resource cost in future years.

Student Loans

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many graduates were due to commence student loan repayments in April 2003; and how many have commenced repayment.

Alan Johnson: 251,091 borrowers (UK figure) were due to start repaying their income-contingent student loans in April 2003. The figures for those that have started repayments are not yet available because repayment is based on income and is deducted at source by employers with tax and National Insurance. Details of repayments are notified to the Student Loans Company by the Inland Revenue after the end of the tax year in question.

Teacher Redundancies

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) teachers, (b) classroom assistants and (c) other redundancies (i) have occurred since 1st April and (ii) he has been informed will take place during the remainder of the financial year in each school in Hertfordshire.

David Miliband: holding answer 26 June 2003
	Detailed information on redundancies of teachers, classroom assistants and others on a school by school basis is not collected centrally.

Teacher Vacancies (London)

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vacancies there are for teachers in each London borough.

David Miliband: The most recent vacancy numbers for the maintained schools sector at local authority level are shown in table 40 of the 2002 edition of "Statistics of Education: School Workforce in England". A copy of this volume has been placed in the Library. The table is also available on the statistics section of the DfES website at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics/DBA/OL/vQ380/456-t40.htm.
	Vacancy information was published at regional level in April 2003 in statistical first release 10/2003. In January 2003 there were 1,020 vacancies (a vacancy rate of 2.1 per cent.) in the maintained schools sector in London, down from 1,360 vacancies (a vacancy rate of 2.7 per cent.) in January 2002.

Teenage Pregnancy

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what expenditure was incurred in each of the last five years; and what the level is of projected expenditure to 2005–06 to tackle teenage pregnancy; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy was launched in June 1999. Expenditure and provision for the Strategy is listed below.
	There are early encouraging signs of progress. The most recent data for 2001 shows a 10 per cent. reduction in the under 18 conception rate and an 11 per cent. fall in the under 16 conception rate since 1998, the baseline year for the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy. Participation of teenage parents in education, training or employment has doubled from 16 per cent. to 33 per cent.
	
		Teenage pregnancy strategy -- £ million
		
			  Expenditure 
		
		
			 1999–2000 5 
			 2000–01 16 
			 2001–02 21 
			 2002–03 21 
			 2003–04 35 
			 2004–05 40 
			 2005–06 40 
		
	
	Note
	Figures quoted for 2003–04 to 2005–06 are provisional and are the Spending Review 2002 Allocations.
	The table details the funding of local teenage pregnancy strategies and central activity led by the Teenage Pregnancy Unit including campaigns. Teenage parents are also supported in other ways, for example through reintegrating school age mothers into education via the Vulnerable Children Grant, supporting the child care costs of teenage parents in post-16 education and by housing support for those teenage parents who are unable to live with their families.

Teenage Pregnancy

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his policy is on the recommendation in the recent Health Committee report on Sexual Health for a National Service Framework on sexual health as part of his Department's strategy to reduce teenage pregnancy.

Stephen Twigg: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

University Premium

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the areas in respect of which universities will receive a 20 per cent. premium for admitting students therefrom; and if he will list the other criteria which will result in the payment of a premium for admitting students.

Alan Johnson: Funds to help with the additional costs to higher education institutions (HEIs) of recruiting and retaining certain students are allocated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). This Widening Participation allocation is determined partly by the neighbourhood classification of the student's home address. HEFCE uses four classifications related to average rate of participation in higher education:
	1. Neighbourhoods with below 50 per cent. of average participation
	2. Neighbourhoods with 50–75 per cent. average participation
	3. Neighbourhoods with 75–100 per cent. average participation
	4. Neighbourhoods with above average participation
	Funds are distributed to HEIs recruiting students from these neighbourhoods using a weighting system. Other funds to assist universities to recruit and support undergraduates from disadvantaged backgrounds are distributed according to formulae that recognise prior educational attainment and age, and mode of study.

University Tuition Fees

Eric Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the cost would be of abolishing university tuition fees in 2003–04.

Alan Johnson: Pursuant to the reply by my hon. Friend of 17 June 2003, Official Report, column 134, clarification is required to the answer which sated that the standard tuition fee contribution for full-time home and EU students of £1,125 is estimated to raise around £887 million for English institutions and around £60 million for Welsh institutions. The reply does not make clear that the sum of £456 million, given as the public contribution to fees in England for 2003–04, includes public funding of approximately £40 million allocated to support postgraduate study through the Research Councils. Correspondingly, the sum of £31 million given as the public contribution to fees in Wales for 2003–04, includes public funding of approximately £3 million allocated to support postgraduate study through the Research Councils.
	An amended table is set out below:
	
		
			 2003–04 Estimate England(£ millions) Wales(£ millions) 
		
		
			 Public contributions to fees 416 28 
			 Private contributions towards the cost of tuition 431 29 
			 Total 847 57 
		
	
	The amount of private contribution to fees (£431 milliion in England) is not altered by this and so there is no change to the figure of 90,000 places, referred to in the earlier answer, that would be lost if the private contribution were to be abolished.

Young Carers

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers have taken part in courses to raise awareness of young carers since 1999.

David Miliband: holding answer 3 July 2003
	This information is not collected centrally.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Servants

Paul Burstow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many staff at each civil service grade within each Department were aged (a) 16 to 25, (b) 26 to 35, (c) 36 to 45, (d) 46 to 60 and (e) over 60 in each of the last five years.

Douglas Alexander: The figures for the Cabinet Office are based on headcount for the number of permanent staff as follows:
	
		Number (headcount)
		
			 Age April 1998 April 1999 April 2000 April 2001 April 2002 
		
		
			 16 to 25 9 21 37 75 116 
			 26 to 35 199 276 392 494 623 
			 36 to 45 357 476 532 586 697 
			 46 to 60 454 519 545 606 710 
			 Over 60 101 105 93 84 50 
		
	
	The departmental figures are in tables and represent the data reported to Mandate over the last five years. Copies of the tables have been placed in the Libraries of the House. Mandate is a central computer based record of information for almost all civil servants in the Home civil service. For some Departments and agencies, summary figures are provided in a manual return, which may not always be fully consistent with Mandate information, for example, because of minor differences in timing. Breakdowns by age are purely figures reported to Mandate. Departments and agencies are responsible for their own grading structures, but these have been allocated to broad responsibility levels to give a common basis for tabulation.
	Figures are on a headcount basis, for the number of permanent staff in each Department. The figures are based on the Departments following the structural changes made following the 2001 election.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Cruelty

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there have been for cruelty to (a) dogs, (b) cats and (c) sheep in (i) the UK and (ii) Sefton in (A) 2001, (B) 2002 and (C) 2003.

Paul Goggins: Offences connected with cruelty to dogs, cats and sheep cannot be distinguished from cruelty to other animals in the statistics collected centrally in England and Wales.
	Figures for Scotland are a matter for the Scottish Office and those for Northern Ireland for the Northern Ireland Office.

Animal Experiments

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to change the regulations on the use of animals in (a) scientific and (b) other experiments; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the Home Office regulates the use of protected animals in any experimental or other scientific procedure that may have the effect of causing that animal pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm. The Home Office does not regulate the use of animals in experiments or procedures not covered by the 1986 Act.
	The 1986 Act provides a strong regulatory framework and an effective means by which to balance the need to protect animals from unnecessary suffering with the legitimate requirements of the scientific community (and the public) for medical and other essential research and safety testing. The system set up under the 1986 Act has proved flexible and responsive to changing circumstances and requirements, and its enabling provisions allow changes to be made quickly and easily by administrative means, or using secondary legislation.
	The Animal Procedures Committee (APC) review of the operation of the Act, published in its Annual Report for 1997, concluded that the Act provides a good framework for a well-regulated and responsible use of animals in scientific procedures in the United Kingdom. A number of recommendations arising from the APC review to enhance the effectiveness of the Act have subsequently been implemented and further improvements are continually being sought. The APC has also recently provided advice on the cost benefit assessment conducted under by section 5(4) of the 1986 Act, which we will consider carefully. Section 24 of the 1986 Act is also currently being reviewed. Proposals are also awaited from the European Commission for the revision of Directive 86/609/EEC, which the 1986 Act transposes into United Kingdom law. These may result in the need for the 1986 Act to be amended in due course. However, we have no immediate plans for legislative change.

Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in considering the appeals of prisoners detained under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: 15 foreign nationals have so far been detained using powers in Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security (ATCS) Act 2001. Of the total detained, two have voluntarily left the United Kingdom. The other 13 remain in detention.
	On 19 May 2003, individual appeals for eight of the ATCS Act detainees who were certified in December 2001, and two of the subsequent detainees, began being heard before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC). This first batch of appeals will continue throughout the summer.
	At this time, five of the individual appeals have been heard by SIAC. Determinations have yet to be issued by SIAC in these cases.
	The remaining appeals are expected to be heard by SIAC in the autumn. The timing of these appeals is a matter for the Government.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Anti-social Behaviour Orders have been granted in England and Wales.

Hazel Blears: Anti-social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) were introduced from 1 April 1999. The number of notifications received by the Home Office of ASBOs granted within England and Wales, up to 30 November 2002 (latest available), is 785.
	We are aware that the numbers of ASBOs made nationally have been consistently under-reported in returns made by magistrates courts and are considering how reporting can be improved.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of black and ethnic minority communities in each local authority area have (a) been served with an ASBO and (b) been found in breach of an ASBO; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Information collected centrally on the number of civil Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) issued and refused within England and Wales does not identify the ethnicity of the persons concerned.
	For persons dealt with for breach of ASBOs, and ASBOs made on conviction in criminal proceedings from December 2002, the ethnicity has been provided to the Home Office by the courts on a voluntary basis up to 31 March 2003 but the quality of the ethnic data provided is not sufficiently robust to allow publication. The requirement to provide details of ethnicity was made mandatory from 1 April 2003.

Arson

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were found guilty of arson in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002.

Hazel Blears: 1,500 persons were found guilty of arson in England and Wales in 2001.
	Statistics for 2002 will be published in the autumn.

Arson

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces in England and Wales have specialist units dealing with arson.

Hazel Blears: The required information is not available centrally.

Arson

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people prosecuted for arson offences were (a) found guilty, (b) placed on probation, (c) fined, (d) made subject to a supervision order, community service order, combination order or curfew order, (e) given a suspended sentence, (f) given a conditional discharge, (g) given an absolute discharge and (h) given a custodial sentence in each year since 1997.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is contained in the table.
	Statistics for 2002 will be published in the autumn.
	
		Number of persons found guilty, sentenced and sentence breakdown for arson(33) at all courts -- England and Wales 1997 to 2001
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000(34) 2001 
		
		
			 Found guilty 1,582 1,393 1,380 1,436 1,500 
			 Total sentenced 1,574 1,338 1,373 1,420 1,480 
			   
			 Breakdown of total sentenced  
			 Absolute discharge 5 3 1 5 4 
			 Conditional discharge 204 128 138 108 95 
			 Fine 163 36 29 29 36 
			 Probation order(35) 227 224 212 197 190 
			 Supervision order, community service order(36), combination order(37) and curfew order 319 311 342 326 319 
			 Fully suspended sentence 20 29 17 21 16 
			 Immediate custody 485 479 512 512 533 
			 Other community orders(38) and otherwise dealt with 151 128 122 222 287 
		
	
	(33) These data are on the principal offence basis.
	(34) Staffordshire Police were only able to supply a sample of data for magistrates' courts proceedings covering one full week in each quarter for 2000. Estimates based on this sample are included in the figures, as they are considered sufficiently robust at this high level of analysis.
	(35) Community rehabilitation order from 1 April 2001.
	(36) Community punishment order from 1 April 2001.
	(37) Community punishment and rehabilitation order from 1 April 2001.
	(38) Attendance centre order, reparation order, action plan order and drug treatment and testing order.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence Her Majesty's Government will require from a Turkish Cypriot to prove EU citizenship when visiting the UK, after Cyprus accedes to the EU.[R]

Beverley Hughes: Cypriot nationals will have the same free movement rights as existing EU nationals from their accession to the EU.
	EC law provides that EU member states shall admit an EU national on production of his valid passport or identity card. The UK would therefore expect Cypriot nationals to carry their passports or identity cards when visiting the UK. However, in very exceptional circumstances, such as if an EU national has lost his passport while travelling, the UK may admit EU nationals who can prove their nationality and identity by other means.

Departmental Ministers

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Ministers there were in his Department in each year since 1996.

David Blunkett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley, South (Mr. Alexander) on 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 661W.

Departmental Report

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is indicated by related administration cost receipts in Table 5, page 173 of the Home Office Annual Departmental Report 2003.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 3 July 2003
	Administration cost receipts in Table 5, page 173 of the Home Office Annual Departmental Report 2002 arise from the following main headings:
	fees from passports;
	fees for disclosures given by the Criminal Records Bureau;
	receipts from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and for the services of Home Office immigration staff; and
	receipts in the Prison Service for providing services to the Department of Education and Skills and places and regimes in the juvenile estate for the Youth Justice Board.

Firearms

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what restrictions are placed on manufacturers' sales of sporting firearms from mainland United Kingdom to Northern Ireland.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 3 July 2003
	Under the terms of the Firearms (Removal to Northern Ireland) Order 1990, the removal of firearms or ammunition from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is prohibited unless the removal is authorised by the chief officer of police for the area from which they are to be removed and by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The Order applies only to section 1 firearms and ammunition and not to shotguns. We are presently reviewing these procedures.

Licence Plate Cloning

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of vehicle licence plate cloning have been (a) investigated and (b) prosecuted in the last 12 months.

Hazel Blears: Information collected centrally on the Home Office Court Proceedings database does not separately identify offences involving the supply or use of fraudulent vehicle registration marks.

Mayor of London

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times he and his predecessors met the Mayor of London in official meetings at the Department in each of the past three years.

David Blunkett: I have met the Mayor of London on a number of occasions. As with previous Administrations, it is not Government practice to provide details of all such meetings, under exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Mobile Phone Crime

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for offences under the Mobile Telephones (Re-programming) Act 2002; and what penalties were imposed on those convicted.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not available through our formal statistical channels. Court proceedings for offences under the Mobile Telephone (Re-programming) Act 2002 only became identifiable in the statistics collected centrally in January 2003. Statistics for 2003 will be published in the autumn of 2004.
	The Home Office and police forces have been monitoring offences under the Act, and know of three prosecutions and convictions under the Act to date. The sentences in these three cases were a conditional discharge, a community punishment order and a fine, and a conditional discharge and a fine.

National Security

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what measures are being taken to monitor domestic internet sites for potential threats to national security; and what resources are being devoted to this task;
	(2)  what measures are being taken to monitor UK internet sites for potential threats to national security.

David Blunkett: I am sure my hon. Friend understands it is not possible to comment on matters of national security.

Operation Icebolt

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report on the (a) cost and (b) outcome of Durham and Cleveland Police's Operation Icebolt; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: Operation Icebolt was an anti-terrorist operation conducted by Durham and Cleveland Police Forces in co-operation with the Metropolitan Police in January 2002, and has been concluded. It is longstanding Government policy not to comment publicly on the details of anti-terrorist operations.

Pathfinder Programmes

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the pilot areas for pathfinder programmes for convicted domestic violence offenders.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 26 June 2003
	Both the Prison and the Probation service are piloting programmes for domestic violence offenders.
	The Probation pilots are in west Yorkshire and London. The Prison service pilots are in Her Majesty's Prison Manchester and Her Majesty's Prison Acklington.

Pet Cruelty

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of pets being thrown from moving vehicles were reported to the police in the last 12 months.

Hazel Blears: The requested details are not collected centrally.

Police and Prison Expenditure

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total amount spent per head of population on (a) police, (b) prisons and (c) probation was in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: The total amount spent per head of population by the Home Office on police, prisons and probation, based on the 2002–03 estimated outturn as published in the (A) Home Office departmental report 2003 (cm5908) (minus (B) depreciation) and (C) the Office for National Statistics' estimated mid-year resident population for England and Wales 2001 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  (A): Estimated expenditure (£) (B) Depreciation (£) (C): Total population (A-B)/C = Cost per head (£) 
		
		
			 Police 6,815,251,000 -8,088,000 52,084,500 130.69 
			 Prisons 2,534,176,000 -132,642,000 52,084,500 46.11 
			 Probation 716,290,000 -9,134,000 52,084,500 13.58

Police Inspectors

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional responsibilities have been placed on police inspectors and chief inspectors by (a) legislation and (b) changes in policing methods since 1994.

Hazel Blears: In recent years the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and other legislation has been amended so that the minimum rank for taking a number of important policing decisions has been reduced from superintendent to inspector. These include taking fingerprints, intimate and non-intimate samples without consent, authorising intimate searches and delaying a detained person's right to let someone know they have been arrested.
	New legislation has also given additional responsibilities to inspectors. For example, they are able to authorise the searching or examination of a detained person to ascertain their identity and to deny independent custody visitors access to a detained person. In certain circumstances they can authorise surveillance under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and approve searches for criminal cash under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA).
	The way in which those powers are exercised, and the precise responsibilities given to officers at different ranks, depend on local decisions taken by individual chief constables and other police commanders. However, there has certainly been a very positive trend towards devolving decision making and responsibility from force headquarters to local managers.

Police Recruitment

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were recruited in Humberside in each of the last five years; and how many were recruited in police authorities with similar size populations in the same period.

Hazel Blears: By 30 September 2002 Humberside Police had 2,114 police officers, a record number. The force had 816 civilian support staff on 31 March 2002 (the latest figures).
	The table shows the number of officers recruited to Humberside Police and to the five other forces with most similar sized populations in the last five years for which figures are available.
	
		
			 Force Year as at31 March Officers Recruited (includes number funded by the Crime Fighting Fund) 
		
		
			 Humberside 1998 88 
			  1999 48 
			  2000 91 
			  2001 98 (47) 
			  2002 237 (41) 
			 Cheshire 1998 94 
			  1999 112 
			  2000 36 
			  2001 108 (21) 
			  2002 158 (76) 
			 Derbyshire 1998 66 
			  1999 52 
			  2000 79 
			  2001 103 (65) 
			  2002 112(50) 
			 Leicestershire 1998 118 
			  1999 88 
			  2000 67 
			  2001 108 (37) 
			  2002 150 (65) 
			 Norfolk 1998 84 
			  1999 28 
			  2000 43 
			  2001 90 (41) 
			  2002 99 (42) 
			 North Yorkshire 1998 65 
			  1999 17 
			  2000 10 
			  2001 66 (4) 
			  2002 99 (38)

Policing

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made by non-Home Office police forces in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: Information is not collected centrally on arrests made by non-Home Office police forces.

Prisons

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons have been built with public money over the last 10 years; and when the construction of each such prison was ordered.

Paul Goggins: Since 1993, four prisons have been built with public money. The dates of order, interpreted here as the date the main construction contract was let, is not readily available and could now be ascertained only at disproportionate cost. They are:
	
		
			 Prison Opened 
		
		
			 Lancaster Farms 1993 
			 Blakenhurst 1993 
			 Doncaster 1994 
			 Buckley Hall 1995

Prisons

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many (a) governing governors and (b) governor grades of prison establishments in England and Wales are from an ethnic minority group;
	(2)  what proportion of staff in the Prison Service are from an ethnic minority group.

Paul Goggins: As at 30 June 2003, there was in the public sector, one senior operational manager in charge of an establishment recorded as coming from a minority ethnic group. A further two senior operational managers had no ethnicity data recorded in this group. Within the contracted prisons sector (i.e. private prisons), there is one minority ethnic manager in charge of an establishment.
	Out of the 1,258 senior operational managers in post on 31 May 2003 in the public sector, 35 were recorded as coming from a minority ethnic group, representing 2.8 per cent. of senior operational managers in this group. A further 85 (6.8 per cent.) had no ethnicity data recorded.
	Out of the 46,467 public sector staff in post on 31 May 2003, 2,425 were recorded as coming from a minority ethnic group, representing 5.2 per cent. of staff in this sector. A further 4,078 (8.8 per cent.) had no ethnicity data recorded.
	Within the contracted (i.e. private) prisons sector, 83 staff are recorded as coming from a minority ethnic group, representing 2.2 per cent. of the total contracted prisons staff.

Prisons

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of GDP was spent on prisons in (a) 1973, (b) 1981, (c) 1991 and (d) 2001; and what the expenditure was on prisons in real terms in each of those years.

Paul Goggins: The following table provides the information requested, for 1973, 1981, 1991 and 2001 and is based on Prison service costs. Because of changes over the years in the way that the Prison service's costs have been funded and measured, these figures will not be exactly comparable with each other.
	The level of expenditure in 1990–91 reflects an increased capital spend on new prisons at that time. In recent years such costs have been met through private finance initiative (PFI) contracts, with the capital costs being repaid over a long period.
	
		Prison service costs as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP)
		
			  GDP (£ million) Prison service (£ million) 
			 Financialyear Cash Real terms 2001–02 Cash Real terms 2001–02 Percentage 
		
		
			 1972–73 67,167 534,372 78.3 623.0 0.12 
			 1980–81 236,486 592,111 403.5 1,010.3 0.17 
			 1990–91 563,735 773,611 1,341.5 1,840.9 0.24 
			 2000–01 962,613 986,682 1,794.7 1,839.6 0.19 
		
	
	Note:
	Prison service costs include current and capital expenditure.

Prisons

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons in England and Wales have (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) doctors or nurses and (d) doctors and nurses available to practice health care (i) 24 hours a day, (ii) 12 hours a day, (iii) every other day, (iv) twice a week and (v) once a week.

Paul Goggins: The information is not available in the form requested. Under the Prison Act 1952, every prison must have a medical officer. The provision of health services in an establishment is organised around its health care centre.
	Health care centres fall into one of four categories according to the level of service provided and are staffed appropriately to fulfill their particular function. There are 23 Type 1 and 45 Type 2 health care centres at which only daytime health care cover is provided, generally by part-time staff in the former and full-time staff in the latter. There are 68 Type 3 health care centres, which have in-patient facilities and 24-hour nurse cover, and four Type 4 facilities, which have the same level of provision but act as national or regional assessment centres.

Prisons

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prison officers are allowed to administer medication to prisoners; and what proportion of those officers have been given medical training.

Paul Goggins: Only nurses and health care officers—prison officers who have received specific training and work as part of the health care team—administer medication to prisoners. Where a health care officer is not nurse qualified they work under the clinical supervision of a registered nurse. The competencies for the safe administration of medicine are contained in the new national occupational standards for custodial health care set out in the Custodial Healthcare National Vocation Qualification (NVQ).

Prisons

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of medication provided in prisons that would normally be administered in tablets is given in liquid form to prevent prisoners storing their medication.

Paul Goggins: The information is not available in the form requested. Prisons have a risk assessment process that will be undertaken before a prisoner is allowed to have medication in their possession. Not all medication can be made available in liquid form. Prison Health has published "A Pharmacy Service for Prisoners", available at www.doh.gov.uk/prisonhealth, which will help prisons to develop their pharmacy services.

Police Radio Communications

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the Public Safety Radio Communications Project; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the operation of the system on the health of (a) the general public and (b) those using the system.

Hazel Blears: The Public Safety Radio Communications Project is now known as Airwave and is currently being rolled out to all police forces in England, Wales and Scotland. The Airwave service is currently available to 14 forces and completion of the rollout is expected by mid-2005.
	We have taken independent expert advice on the health and safety aspects of the TETRA technology used by Airwave. The experts concluded that the specific features of TETRA were unlikely to pose a risk to the health of either the public or those using the system.
	We have set up an extensive programme of work monitored by independent scientists to address remaining areas of uncertainty. This has confirmed that all Airwave equipment conforms to international health and safety regulations. No adverse health effects have been found so far. Regular updates are available on our website (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/tetra.html).

TETRA

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 462W, to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Ms Walley), on TETRA, what funds have been allocated to the national health monitoring study of Airwave police users; and when he expects the study to report.

Hazel Blears: £5 million has been allocated for the national health monitoring study of Airwave police users. This work includes two components: a long-term study to follow-up over 100,000 Airwave police users over 15 years, and a shorter-term detailed study of a small group of police officers. The detailed study will report after three years. The long-term study is statistical in nature and many years of data will be required to produce reliable results. An interim report will be available once five full years of data have been collected, some seven years from the start of the work. Regular updates on progress will be available on our website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/tetra.html.

TETRA

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many masts each of the police constabularies have in their area for use by the new TETRA system; how many new masts are required by each constabulary to ensure full service for the system; and what the anticipated date is by which each constabulary will have full coverage.

Hazel Blears: Airwave is the new TETRA radio system for police forces in England, Wales and Scotland. The network is the responsibility of Airwave 02, the Private Finance Initiative partner for Airwave. It is estimated that around 3,000 masts will be required to provide coverage for Airwave across the country. Final figures for the number of new masts in each constabulary will not be available until the end of the rollout, as adjustments will continue to be made across the system in order to optimise coverage. Airwave is currently available to 14 forces and the rollout is expected to be complete by mid-2005.

Robbery/Burglary Victims

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of (a) serious injury and (b) death there have been involving victims of (i) robbery and (ii) burglary in each of the past five years.

Hazel Blears: (a) Data on the number of cases of serious injury involving victims of (i) robbery and (ii) burglary are not held centrally. The British Crime Survey (BCS) collects some information on injuries sustained in violent incidents. Violent incidents from the BCS can be classified into a violence typology comprised of domestic, mugging, stranger and acquaintance incidents. Violent crime from the BCS can also be separated into robbery, wounding, common assault, and snatch theft. The information regarding injuries sustained for this latter breakdown is not published prior to 2001–02 BCSinterviews.
	Mugging is a popular rather than a legal term, comprising robbery, attempted robbery and snatch theft from the person. The BCS does not cover incidents against those aged under 16 or those not living in private households. Available information is given in the following table.
	
		Injuries sustained in muggings (1998 BCS, 2000 BCS and 2001/02 BCS interviews) -- Percentages
		
			  1998 2000 2001–02 2001–02 
		
		
			 Minor bruise/black eye 24 14 15 18 
			 Severe bruising 14 12 17 21 
			 Scratches 7 10 6 7 
			 Cuts 12 4 11 13 
			 Broken bones 1 1 2 2 
		
	
	Notes:1. Results for muggings should be treated with caution due to the small number of incidents.
	2. More than one type of physical injury may have occurred.
	3. More than one response was allowed.
	
		(b) The numbers of deaths arising from robbery and burglary during the years 1997–98 to 2001–02 are itemised in the following table. Deaths involving victims of robbery and burglary 1997–98 to 2001–02
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Robbery 23 28 23 23 37 
			 Burglary 13 13 9 3 12 
			 Total 36 41 32 26 49 
		
	
	Data as at 8 October 2002, figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and the courts, or as further information becomes available.

Security (Royal Palaces)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of security at royal palaces; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: I refer the hon. Member to my statement to the House on 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 867.

Security (Royal Palaces)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional security measures have been put in place at royal palaces at Windsor Castle since 21 June 2003.

David Blunkett: I refer the hon. Member to my statement to the House on 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 867. As she will appreciate, I cannot comment on the detail of security measures in place at Windsor Castle or other royal palaces, as to do so may compromise the safety of those the measures are designed to protect.

Staff Numbers

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff the Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which the Department is responsible had in each year since 1997; and what the cost of those staff was in each of those years.

Fiona Mactaggart: Details of how many staff were in the Home Department and each agency and each non-departmental public body for which the Home Department is responsible, and their costs, are found in the annual Home Office Departmental Reports and in each individual body's annual report. All annual reports are presented to Parliament and copies are placed in the Library. The majority of the bodies have also posted recent annual reports on their websites.

Sunset Clauses

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to include a sunset clause in all new legislation unless a specific case can be made to exclude a sunset clause.

Fiona Mactaggart: The subject matter of much Home Office legislation is such that a sunset clause would be inappropriate. For example, the criminal law, rules on citizenship and immigration, the regulation of the police and the prisons are all topics on which it is unrealistic to believe that the controls can simply be abandoned. A sunset clause would just necessitate further legislation. Such a clause is included, however, in exceptional cases (such as in respect of some of the powers in the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001).

Under-age Drinking

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) retail outlets and (b) licensees were prosecuted for illegally providing alcohol to people aged under 18 during the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: 155 persons were proceeded against in England and Wales in 2001 for the offence of 'Selling etc, intoxicating liquor to persons under 18 for consumption on the premises'. It is not possible in the statistics collected centrally, however, to distinguish between retail outlets and licensees.
	Statistics for 2002 will be available in December 2003.

HEALTH

"Liberating the Talents"

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress made in implementing the recommendations in Liberating the Talents, published in 2002.

John Hutton: Liberating the Talents provides a new framework for nursing in primary care to support the delivery of the NHS Plan. It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to determine how they wish to implement the recommendations locally. PCTs are being supported by the Department to take forward Liberating the Talents through a range of work programmes. Workshops have been held in 26 of the 28 strategic health authorities for 290 PCTs, core elements of the framework have been included in the new general medical services contract and a guide one stablishing nurses with special interests has been published. The NHS University is piloting a learning programme to support nurses to provide first contact care, a new model of nurse-led managed care for patients at risk is being piloted in ten PCTs and we have set upinitiatives to support recruitment and retention of nurses in primary care.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to establish a national screening programme for abdominal aortic aneurysm.

John Hutton: The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (NSC) makes recommendations to Ministers on all aspects of screening programmes. It is currently considering the resource costs and workforce implications of implementing a screening programme for abdominal aortic aneurysm, following the publication of a multi-centre study, funded by the Medical Research Council last year.

Advertising Campaigns

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advertising campaigns his Department is (a) conducting and (b) planning for the next 12 months; and how much is being spent on each campaign in each advertising medium.

Rosie Winterton: Major advertising campaigns committed to and planned by the Department of Health for 2003–04 are shown in the table. Column 'A' gives details of committed spend as at 30 June 2003. Column 'B' lists other advertising activity planned for the rest of this financial year (not yet agreed).
	
		
			 Campaign Column A Column B 
		
		
			 NHS careers recruitment Regional press, posters—£335,000 TV  
			  Foreign press—£15,000 National and regional press, women's magazines, minority ethnic press, professional press, radio, internet, six sheet posters 
			
			 NHS Direct Internet advertising—£250,000 Internet advertising 
			  Older people campaign (Press and magazine advertising and 'advertorials')—£200,000,000 Press and magazine advertising and 'advertorials' 
			
			 Smoking Cessation Terrestrial and satellite TV—£6.6 million Terrestrial and satellite TV 
			   Press and magazine 
			 Flu Immunisation National TV—£900,000  
			  Press—£500,000  
			  Bus/Tube Interiors—£200,000  
			  Online—£40,000  
			
			 Sexual Health Radio—£80,000 Radio 
			  Mens/Womens magazines—£54,000 Mens/Womens magazines 
			   Ambient/Posters  
			   Online 
			
			 Teenage Pregnancy Radio—£155,000 Radio 
			  Teen magazines—£45,000 Teen magazines 
			   Ambient/Posters 
			   Online 
			
			 Child Immunisation   
			 HIB Booster Campaign April-July National Press, regional press, parenting press, women's press—£360,000 Parenting Press 
			 Programme support September TV—£1.12 million  
			
			 Drugs—FRANK TV—£1.55 million TV 
			  Radio—£800,000 Radio 
			  Press—£350,000 Press 
			  Ambient—£130,000 Ambient 
			
			 Social Work/Care Recruitment National press—£275,000 TV 
			  Cross track posters—£70,000 National Press, Cross track, posters, internet 
			  Online—£60,000  
			
			 Access (Waiting, booking and Choice, Emergency Care and Patient Experience)/Get the right treatment campaign  Regional press, regional radio, outdoor, ambient advertising

Agency Nurses

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 16 June 2003, Official Report, column 67W, on agency nurses, what information is collected on hours worked by agency nurses.

John Hutton: Information on hours worked by agency nurses is not collected centrally.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what resources were allocated to (a) research into and (b) treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The main Government agency for research into the causes and treatments of disease is the Medical Research Council (MRC), which receives its funding from the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology. The MRC's expenditure on research into attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is shown in the table.
	Because the MRC has changed the way in which information is kept, it does not have a set of complete records to compile figures for 1997–99 in this particular area.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1999–2000 0.62 
			 2000–01 0.63 
			 2001–02 0.53 
			 2002–03 not available 
		
	
	Since 2001, the Economic and Social Research Council has funded a £45,000 research project on screening and interventions for inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity in school age children. These problems are associated with ADHD but are not by themselves definitive indicators of the disorder.
	Expenditure on the treatment of ADHD is not separately identifiable within overall spending on child and adolescent mental health services.

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the treatment available for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

John Hutton: Specialist urological services for men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) are available widely around the country and a significant number of men can be treated by their family doctor. In recent years, drug treatments and surgery for the disease have greatly improved.
	Treatment can be given by medicines which can either help to relax the muscle fibres within the prostate or decrease the size of the gland. The most common surgical operation is an endoscopic surgical procedure where parts of enlarged tissue are removed.
	The National Institute for Clinical Excellence has just finished consulting on two procedures under the interventional procedures programme. They are examining transurethral electrovaporisation of the prostate, which is a minimally invasive alternative to standard treatment, and transurethral needle ablation of the prostate. Guidance on the safety andefficacy of both techniques should be published in the autumn by the interventional procedures programme.

British Overseas Territories

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what responsibilities his Department undertakes in connection with British Overseas Territories.

John Hutton: There are reciprocal health agreements between the United Kingdom and those populated territories which wished to have such agreements; that is, with Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, St. Helena and Turks and Caicos Islands. The agreements cover immediately necessary treatment for temporary visitors travelling in both directions. They also provide that some patients may be referred by the territories specifically for treatment of a pre-existing condition to the UK where appropriate facilities are not available in the territory concerned. The UK also represents the interests of the territories at the relevant regional committees of the World Health Organisation.

Care Homes (Essex)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are waiting in hospitals in Essex for placements in care homes.

Stephen Ladyman: Management information from Essex Strategic Health Authority shows that, as at week ending 29 June 2003, there were fifteen patients in hospitals in Essex awaiting placements in care homes.

Carers

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has collated on the number of full time, non professional, carers broken down by (a) local authority area and (b) disability or other condition of the person cared for.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Cable, dated 7 July 2003
	As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what information has been collated on the number of full-time, non professional, carers broken down by (a) local authority area and (b) disability or other conditions of the person cared for. (123442)
	The principal source of information on the number of carers in England and Wales is the decennial Census of population. The question on unpaid caring in the 2001 Census asked for the number of hours spent caring which were not part of any paid employment. The number of people in England and Wales who provide unpaid care and who were not otherwise employed is shown in "Table S026 (Sex and economic activity by general health and provision of unpaid care)" of the Census 2001 National Report for England and Wales, which was published on 7 May 2003. A copy of this report was placed in the House of Commons Library. The corresponding figures for each of the 376 local authorities in England and Wales are available on CD-ROM, a copy of which is also available in the House of Commons Library. A further table in the National Report for England and Wales "Table S027 (Households with a person with a limiting long-term illness (LLTI) and their age by number of carers in household and economic activity)", which you might find useful is also broken down by local authority and is on the same CD-ROM.
	The Census did not ask for characteristics of the person cared for and it is not therefore possible to answer part (b) of your question with information from the 2001 Census.
	Information on unpaid caring in Scotland and Northern Ireland is available from the General Register Offices of those countries.

Hospitals (Children)

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which NHS hospital trusts rated two star and above have major hospital sites with an accident and emergency department that does not admit children for minor injuries;
	(2)  which casualty departments in NHS hospitals rated two star and above are assessed as being unsafe for the admittance of children.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested on services provided by accident and emergency departments is not collected centrally. The range of services a particular trust provides, including whether or not they offer children's services, is not a factor in the centralised star rating system. Star ratings measure the services that are delivered by a trust and not all trusts can or should deliver the same range of services.
	Many decisions on service provision are based on considerations of clinical safety. This is why the pattern of local health services, within national priorities, is a matter for local health planners to decide, based on the needs of the local population.

Chronic Pain Services

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken to ensure a quality service in all areas in respect of access to pain management services; if he will list those acute hospitals which do not provide a chronic pain service; if he will make it his policy to require the health authorities in each area to provide for constant coverage for pain relief; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Pain management is an important component of care. The Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG) report on pain services, published in April 2000, highlighted variations in access to pain services throughout the country. It made recommendations to national health service acute trusts and commissioners on how pain services should be delivered in order to reduce variations to access. It recommended that primary care trust commissioners should review local provision of pain services, looking particularly at the provision of more specialised treatments on a networked basis. In this review, account should be taken of the needs of both adults and children, and include patients with acute pain resulting from sudden illness or accident, as well as post-operative pain and chronic pain. Trusts should also agree with commissioners the services and resources which are appropriate to meet local needs.
	The Department of Health does not collect information on those trusts which do not provide a chronic pain service. The CSAG report showed that, in April 2000, chronic pain services existed in 215 acute NHS trusts, which amounts to 86 per cent. of acute trusts in the United Kingdom.

Civil Servants

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new entrants to the civil service were employed in his Department in each of the last five years; and how many in each year were aged 50 or over.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			 1 April-31 March 50 plus Other Total 
		
		
			 1997–98 17 108 125 
			 1998–99 20 190 210 
			 1999–2000 15 231 246 
			 2000–01 34 348 382 
			 2001–02 53 391 444 
		
	
	Note:
	The figures shown in the table represent data for the years from 1997–98 to 2001–02, for the number of permanent staff recruited into the Department of Health. The figures shown are the overall figures including any departmental agencies and were obtained from the Department of Health's personnel database.

Clinical Diagnostics

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to increase the level of laboratory diagnostic testing for clinical diagnosis.

John Hutton: The NHS Plan set out the vision for the national health service to offer patients fast and convenient care offered to a consistently high standard. Extra resources for the NHS were announced in the 2002 Budget, with an annual average increase of 7.4 per cent. above inflation—the largest ever sustained increase in NHS funding—over the five years from 2003–04 to 2007–08. As part of this, we are investing £54 million capital and £9.1 million revenue specifically in pathology services over the three year period from 2003–04 to 2005–06.
	The Department of Health recognises the vital role of pathology services in the effective treatment and care of patients, and in providing fast and effective diagnoses to support improved access to services. We have set up the pathology modernisation programme to ensure that pathology services provide the appropriate diagnostic support for clinical services.
	We are currently revising our draft document for the NHS on modernising pathology services and plan to publish it shortly.

Commission for Social Care Inspection

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will define 'any' person under Clause 84(1) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill; who will be able to request copies of a report; whether individuals who appear in CSCI reports will have their right to privacy protected; and whether a person requesting a copy of a CSCI report will be required to give notice of their request.

Stephen Ladyman: 'Any person' in this context would include an individual or a legal person (such as a company). The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) must make reports available to any person on request. There is no requirement to give notice of a request. We would expect CSCI to deal with all requests for copies of reports within a reasonable time.
	CSCI will be subject to the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the common law of confidentiality in handling personal information relating to individuals. Under normal circumstances, we would not expect that the CSCI will include personal data relating to identifiable individuals in its reports.

Commission for Social Care Inspection

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what a reasonable time will be under Clause 85(1) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill; if the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) will be required to give notice of their intention to inspect; if he will define the term 'reasonably believes to be used' under Clause 85(2)(b); what evidence CSCI will be required to produce that a premises should be inspected; and who will provide the authority to enter and inspect under Clause 85(3).

Stephen Ladyman: It will be for the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) to determine what constitutes a reasonable time under clause 82 (formerly 85) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill. The purpose of this clause is to allow the CSCI to conduct an inspection of a premise at any time of the full 24-hour day so long as it is justifiable given the needs of the inspection. Whether it would be reasonable to give advance notice of an individual inspection would be a decision that the CSCI would have to make in the light of the particular circumstances.
	CSCI would be able to enter premises that it reasonably believed were being used in connection with the provision of English local authority social services. It is not proposed that the Bill will define the term "reasonably believed". Essentially, CSCI will have to establish that, at the time of entry to the premises, they genuinely believed on reasonable grounds that the premises were being used to provide local authority social services. CSCI's power and authority to inspect is derived from clause 82 of the Bill. Clause 82(3) of the Bill, requires a person proposing to exercise rights of inspection to produce a duly authenticated document showing their right to inspect. This will be proof of their identity and position within CSCI.

Condoms

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on distributing free condoms among prisoners.

Stephen Ladyman: Policy on prison health issues is determined in partnership between the Home Office and the Department of Health. Prison doctors have been advised that they can make condoms available to individual prisoners, on application, where, in their clinical judgment, there is a risk of infection from HIV.

Consultants (Private Medicine)

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are made for consultants carrying out private work in NHS hospitals to reimburse the NHS for NHS-paid-for parts and materials from NHS stores.

John Hutton: Before allowing patients to be treated privately in their facilities, national health service hospitals are required to obtain undertakings from (or on behalf of) those patients to pay for the accommodation and services they are to receive. That includes the materials and other goods to be used in their treatment.

Continuing Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission an independent assessment of how the NHS uses (a) criteria and (b) procedures for determining eligibility for continuing care.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 3 July 2003
	The Department is currently commissioning an independent review of arrangements for fully funded continuing care in the national health service.

Dentistry

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve career opportunities in dentistry for (a) nurses, (b) therapists and (c) hygienists.

Rosie Winterton: We are working with the General Dental Council on a review of the extent to which professionals complementary to dentistry can undertake the practice and business of dentistry in order to develop team working in dentistry. We are also considering proposals for the development of competency-based modular training programmes, which would, in the longer-term, facilitate movement between the different dental professions.

Electronic Documents

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the electronic document and electronic record management systems which have been procured by the public authorities listed in Parts I to V of Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for which he is responsible.

John Hutton: The Department does not keep central records of systems bought by the authorities listed in Parts I to V of Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
	The Department is currently rolling out an electronic records management product developed in-house, while a number of solutions are being considered for the Department's executive agencies to meet local business needs.

Euthanasia

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Government will make it its policy to oppose legislation that seeks to legalise euthanasia; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Government welcomes public debate on this issue and will listen carefully to the arguments put forward by all sides. However, any proposal to change the law in this area would need to be considered very carefully and the Government have no plans to change the current law.

Euthanasia

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on the Patient (Assisted Dying) Bill.

Rosie Winterton: The Government welcomes public debate on this issue and we shall take careful note of what is said in the debates as the noble Lord Joffe's Bill is considered. However, any proposal to change the law in this area would need to be considered very carefully and we have no plans to change the current law.

Food Supplements

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans (a) his Department and (b) the Food Standards Agency have to meet the European Commission and the European Food Safety Authority to discuss the concerns of UK industry on the omission from Annex 1 and Annex 2 of the Food Supplements Directive of nutrients permitted for use in the UK;
	(2)  what recent meetings Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the Health Food Manufacturers Association to discuss the Food Supplements Directive; what issues were discussed at the meetings; and what action he intends to take as a result.

Melanie Johnson: My hon. Friend, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, (Ms Blears) met with representatives of the Health Food Manufacturer's Association to discuss the Food Supplements Directive on 9 June 2003. Issues covered in discussion fell under four main headings: nutrients and nutrient sources missing from Annexes I and II in the Food Supplements Directive and requirements for safety dossiers; the recently-published report of the expert group on vitamins and minerals and advice on safe upper levels therein; future setting of maximum permitted levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements at European Union level; and plans for future action on chromium picolinate.
	The Government, represented by the Food Standards Agency, is pressing the European Food Safety Authority for an urgent, substantive meeting with relevant parties to discuss dossier requirements and expects a positive response soon. The European Commission supports this move. The objectives of such a meeting would be to explain problems faced by the United Kingdom food supplements industry resulting from the omission of nutrients and nutrient sources from the Annexes to the Food Supplements Directive; and to explore the potential for simplified dossiers to be presented for vitamin and mineral sources with a long history of safe use and the potential for read-across between dossiers for substances which are likely to have similar toxicological profiles
	Further, to ensure that the Government's policy objectives for regulation of food supplements in the EU are met, the Government continues to press for maximum limits for nutrients in food supplements to be based on thorough risk assessment and set at levels which protect public health, but which neither unnecessarily limit consumer choice nor unduly restrict trade. The Government continues to press this view strongly with other Member States at every opportunity.

Foundation Trusts

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates he has made of the percentage of electors who will register to become voting members of a foundation trust; and what estimate he has made of likely turnout.

John Hutton: The membership of a National Health Service foundation trust must be sufficient to ensure that a board of governors can be elected fairly and transparently according to its constitution. Each NHS foundation trust's constitution must also set a minimum number of members, which must be appropriate for that NHS foundation trust, and which will form part of the local consultation on governance issues.

General Anaesthetic

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of children complained of pain during operations using general anaesthetic in the last three years.

John Hutton: This data is not collected centrally.

Health and Social Care(Community Health and Standards) Bill

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that (a) powers to make regulations under clause 60 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill shall be exercisable by Statutory Instrument and (b) that such instruments shall not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution, of each House of Parliament.

Rosie Winterton: Subsections 174(4) and (5) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill stipulate that any power to make regulations under this Act is exercisable by statutory instrument.
	The regulation making powers provided to the Secretary of State under sections 60(1), 60(7) and 60(8) will therefore subject to negative resolution procedure.

Health and Social Care(Community Health and Standards) Bill

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that a court order from a County Court should be issued prior to the Commission for Health Care Audit and Inspection entering and inspecting (a) any premises owned or controlled by (i) an NHS body, (ii) a local authority and (b) other premises.

Rosie Winterton: No.

Health and Social Care(Community Health and Standards) Bill

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to clause 100 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill, whether it is his policy that advice given to him by the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection should be done by written report which should be published.

Rosie Winterton: Subsection (4) of new section 5A of the Care Standards Act 2000, as inserted by Clause 100, places the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI) under a duty to provide advice or information on such matters in relation to independent health services as the Secretary of State may request. It will be for the Secretary of State to decide whether or not to publish such advice.
	Subsection (3) of new section 5A also places a general duty on the CHAI to keep the public informed about the provision of independent health services in England and in particular about the availability and quality of such services. It will be for CHAI to determine how best to provide and publish such advice.

Health Service Ombudsman

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral answer by the Prime Minister of 25 June 2003, Official Report, column 1040, how the conclusions and recommendations in the Health Service Ombudsman Report (HC399) would give rise to the cost consequences he described.

Stephen Ladyman: The costs consequences described would flow from making all personal care free.

Health Services (Turkish Cypriots)

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what health services will be available on the NHS to Turkish Cypriot visitors to the UK after Cyprus joins the EU; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The health care co-ordination arrangements contained in Regulations (EEC) 1408/71 and 574/72 apply to all persons legally resident in a member state who are insured for health care in a member state. Insured persons who temporarily visit another Member State are entitled to immediately necessary health care in the state being visited. This will apply equally to Turkish Cypriot visitors to the United Kingdom if the Turkish part of Cyprus accedes.

Hospital Mortuaries

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has held in the last six months with strategic health authorities concerning security at hospital mortuaries.

John Hutton: There have been no general discussions with strategic health authorities concerning security at national health service mortuaries within the last six months. Day-to-day responsibility for security lies with the particular NHS body that manages the mortuary.
	The Counter Fraud and Security Management Service, launched on 1 April 2003, is currently reviewing the management of security within the NHS.

Hospital Mortuaries

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of security at hospital mortuaries.

John Hutton: The Department has made no general assessment of security at hospital mortuaries. This is a matter for local national health service trusts.
	The Counter Fraud and Security Management Service, launched on 1 April 2003, is currently reviewing the management of security within the NHS.

Hospital Radio Services

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the provision of hospital radio services.

John Hutton: Hospital radio stations have provided an invaluable service to patients for many years. It is for the national health service trust to determine the provision of hospital radio services within its area.

Local Authority Fees

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average fees are which local authorities pay each week for the care of (a) an elderly resident in a care home and (b) a child with behavioural and emotional difficulties in residential accommodation.

Stephen Ladyman: Information is not available in the detail requested. However, the average gross weekly expenditure per person on supporting older people in residential and nursing care is £336, which includes the fees of those who meet the full cost of their care and those whose costs are met by councils in England. This data relates to the year ended 31 March 2002, which is the most recent data available. Information about the costs of children in residential accommodation is the responsibility of the Department for Education and Skills.

Mental Health

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the recommended square meterage of living space per patient in a mental health hospital is.

Rosie Winterton: Space standards are identified in schedules of accommodation, as part of Hospital Building Notes for individual new hospital departments. Health Building Note 35 provides guidance on accommodation for people with mental illness, including a recommended area of 15 square metres for individual bedrooms with en-suite facilities.

MRSA

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is available to NHS trusts on communicating a diagnosis of MRSA to patients.

Melanie Johnson: There is no specific national guidance on how to inform patients of a methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection.
	As patients with MRSA and other conditions may need supporting information, the Department has produced a generic toolkit for creating patient information locally. This is available at http://www.doh.gov.uk/nhsidentity/toolkit-patientinfo.pdf. Alternatively, trusts may prefer to use existing materials such as the Health Protection Agency's new leaflet "MRSA—Information for patients".

Neonatal Intensive Care

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 20 June 2003, Official Report, column 484W, if he will list the NHS trusts and the number of special care baby unit cots which were added in error to the number of neonatal intensive care cots in March 1999.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 30 June 2003
	The information requested is not currently available. The Department is starting a project to correct the historical data with the national health service trusts involved, so that an accurate time series of neonatal intensive care cot provision can be provided.

NHS Performance Monitoring

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the star ratings system of performance monitoring in the NHS; what plans he has to amend the arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The National Health Service star ratings system is based on assessment of performance against key targets, other performance indicators and reports published by the Commission for Health Improvement.
	Improvements have been made to the star ratings since they were first published in September 2001, with the inclusion of consultation exercises with the NHS when deciding new performance indicators. We expect this to continue when, subject to Parliamentary approval, the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection is established and takes on responsibility for the future development of publication of star ratings.

National Institute for Clinical Excellence

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on implementation of National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommendations that are not being met.

Rosie Winterton: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend, the Member for Brighton, Kemptown (Dr. Desmond Turner) on 20 June 2003, Official Report, column 483W.

Organ Retention

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the Isaacs report on organ retention in the NHS; what plans he has to change procedures; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: We are considering the report by Her Majesty's Inspector of Anatomy and will publish our response shortly. Following earlier advice from the Chief Medical Officer, we have already made significant changes to procedures and communications with families at the time of post mortem. We shall introduce a new Human Tissue Bill as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Osteoporosis and Related Fractures

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the incidence was of osteoporosis and related fractures in 2002–03;
	(2)  how many hip fractures there were in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on osteoporosis and related fractures in 2002–03 are not yet available. Information for 2001–02 shows that there were 9,524 finished consultant episodes (FCEs) where osteoporosis with related fracture was recorded in national health service hospitals in England.
	The number of FCEs where hip fracture was recorded in NHS hospitals in England in the last five years is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997–98 19,628 
			 1998–99 16,416 
			 1999–2000 16,596 
			 2000–01 16,374 
			 2001–02 16,315 
		
	
	The average (mean) FCEs per year over the five year period is 17,066.

Parliamentary Questions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the questions from the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham refs. 108820 and 108822, tabled on 8 April and refs. 116467 and 116468 tabled on 3 June.

John Hutton: The table shows the dates on which the hon. Member's questions were answered.
	
		
			 UIN Date reply sent Official Report 
		
		
			 108820 28 April 87W 
			 108822 28 April 86W 
			 116467 3 July 484W 
			 116468 3 July 484W

Patient Safety

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the operation of the national system for reporting and preventing accidents and errors in the NHS and the work of the National Patient Safety Agency;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to tackle incidents of clinical negligence resulting from identity errors occurring in NHS facilities.

John Hutton: The Government has established the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) to improve the safety of national health service patient care by promoting an open and fair culture and by introducing a national reporting and learning system for patient safety incidents.
	The NPSA has completed an extensive testing and development phase for its national reporting and learning system, which has involved work with 39 NHS trusts in England and Wales, reflecting a range of healthcare settings, and wide consultation with experts in data collection, risk management and statistical analysis. The NPSA will begin to roll out the reporting system nationally from the autumn of 2003.
	A vital part of the NPSA's work is to identify key areas of concern for patient safety in the NHS and to develop solutions to prevent errors being repeated.
	As one area for potential patient safety solutions, the NPSA is examining the role of manual and technological solutions in ensuring that patients receive the healthcare which is intended for them. It has commissioned research to identify best practice already in place in the NHS, and explore the potential to transfer technologies in use in other sectors, such as biometrics (for example, using iris recognition or thumb printing as a unique identifier). The national reporting and learning system will, in time, enable the NPSA to develop a much clearer national picture of the extent of patient mismatching.

Primary Care Trusts

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health following the introduction of the weighted capitation formula from 1 April, how many primary care trusts in England and Wales are receiving funding of (a) more and (b) less than 100 per cent.;and what action he is taking to ensure that those receiving less than 100 per cent. will receive their full funding allocation in future years.

John Hutton: As a result of the 2003–06 allocations, all primary care trusts (PCTs) in England will make progress towards their target shares of resources, as determined by the new formula.
	Information on distances from target for PCTs in England for 2003–04 is available in the Library.
	Funding for health bodies in Wales is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Prisoners (Dental Health)

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in improving dental health for prisoners.

Stephen Ladyman: A "Strategy for Modernising Dental Services for Prisons in England" has been developed and was published at the end of April as a Prison Service Instruction.
	The strategy will support prison health care managers in developing their dental services based on clear recommendations and in line with modernisation within the national health service. It also contains practical advice on service specification, outlines effective ways of commissioning dentists and explains how all developments need to be built on robust clinical governance arrangements. There is a three-year investment plan, to support the implementation of the strategy.

Private Finance Initiative

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total pre-build public subsidy was in all the private finance initiative hospitals that are open.

John Hutton: holding answer 30 June 2003
	There are no pre-build public subsidies involved in private finance initiative schemes.

Private Finance Initiative

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total amount was of money gained from land sales by NHS Trust Private Finance Initiative Consortia.

John Hutton: holding answer 30 June 2003
	Assets which prove to be surplus to requirements of hospitals are disposed of to realise additional resources for the national health service under both the private finance initiative (PFI) and the public capital funding route. Surplus land may be sold to the PFI partner as part of the PFI scheme in return for a reduction in the unitary charge payable over the project life. Any such disposals must be for at least open market value based on independent valuation from the district valuer.
	Information on the value of land involved in major PFI schemes which have become operational is collected annually for the Health Select Committee's public expenditure inquiry. Last year figures were presented for the 12 major schemes which had opened; these are shown in the table. To update this information outside of the annual health service circular data collection exercise would involve disproportionate cost.
	
		(£ million)
		
			 Trust Value of land involved in PFI contract  
		
		
			 Dartford and Gravesham 22 
			 Carlisle No land involved 
			 South Buckinghamshire 4 
			 Norfolk and Norwich No land involved 
			 North Durham 3 
			 Greenwich 13 
			 Calderdale No land involved 
			 South Manchester No land involved 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm (Wellhouse) 8 
			 Worcester Royal 4 
			 Hereford Hospitals No land involved 
			 South Durham (Bishop Auckland) 0.3

Private Healthcare

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the terms of the offer to tender for diagnostic treatment centres to private health companies will differ from those being offered to health care trusts for similar services; and what rate of return he expects to include in such contracts.

John Hutton: Independent sector diagnosis and treatment centre (DTC) contracts will be service-based contracts and not subject to rate of return regulation: bids have been invited for given volumes of clinical activity, particularly activity needed by national health service commissioners to meet 2005 waiting times targets. In the medium-term, as set out in Delivering the NHS Plan, the intention is that independent sector DTCs will operate under a single system of regulation, inspection and healthcare resource group tariffs, across public and private sectors.

Private Healthcare

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information must be made available to patients about (a) the expertise and training of staff in independent clinics or hospitals and (b) the level of available emergency care in that facility.

Stephen Ladyman: Regulation 6 of the Private and Voluntary Health Care Regulations made under the Care Standards Act 2000 requires the registered person of each independent health care establishment or agency to compile a written statement of purpose, to be available for inspection by every patient and person acting on behalf of a patient. Schedule 1 to the Regulations lists the information that must be contained in the statement of purpose, which includes:
	the number, relevant qualifications and experience of the registered provider, manager and staff (including medical practitioners) working there; and the kinds of treatment and services provided, the needs they are intended to meet, and the facilities available for patients.
	Regulation 7 requires the registered person to produce a written patients' guide. This must include, among other detailed information:
	a summary of the statement of purpose;
	either a copy of the most recent National Care Standards Commission's inspection report on the organisation, or information on how to obtain it; and
	the terms, conditions, and details of charges payable for all aspects of the treatment and services described in the statement of purpose.
	There are many further references to patient consultation and information in the national minimum standards, in particular relating to patients' rights, privacy and dignity, involving patients in decisions about their treatment, and obtaining properly informed consent.
	The Private and Voluntary Health Care Regulations and National Minimum Standards are published as a priced document in one volume, Independent Health Care, National Minimum Standards, Regulations by The Stationery Office. Copies have been placed in the Library.

Public Benefit Corporations

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what considerations led him to stipulate £1 as being the appropriate fee to register as a member of a public benefit corporation.

John Hutton: The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill requires that a person may not be a member of a public benefit corporation unless he has agreed to pay a sum not exceeding £1. The requirement to agree to make a nominal payment to become a member of a public benefit corporation is not a membership fee but represents a commitment to the national health service foundation trust.

Public Benefit Corporations

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the expected cost is of maintaining a register of members of public benefit corporations.

John Hutton: The costs of maintaining a register of members will vary depending upon the size of the membership of a public benefit corporation. The new arrangements build on existing arrangements for patient and public involvement—much of the activity is not entirely new and will not therefore generate new costs.

Private Finance Initiative

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in the public-private initiative in the NHS; what targets have been set; and what performance has been measured.

John Hutton: The NHS Plan committed us to opening over 100 new hospital schemes in total between 2000 and 2010. Currently, there are 114 hospital schemes counting towards the 100 target, of which 104 will be built under the Private Finance Initiative. Of the 104, 31 are now operational and a further 17 are under construction.

Radiology

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has for IT development to enable radiology consultants in the NHS to access images from their homes when on duty;
	(2)  if he will list the hospital trusts who have invested in ISDN lines for computers, to enable consultant radiologists to access images from their homes when on duty.

John Hutton: Information about local investment in ISDN lines by trusts is not held centrally.
	Access to radiology images online is part of the integrated care records service (ICRS), which is core to the National Programme for Information Technology. This supports the implementation of the national strategic programme, "Delivering 21st Century IT- Support for the NHS" which was announced by my noble Friend, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, following the publication of "Delivering the NHS Plan" 11 June 2002.
	Phase 1 of ICRS to December 2004 will provide clinicians with the capability to email, browse internet/intranet sites and view basic clinical information relating to their patients (demographics, limited clinical correspondence and laboratory and radiology results), whether they were in primary, community or secondary care settings.
	It is a matter for local trusts to determine whether and how to provide access to patient records, including radiology images, in the light of local working practices and national security and confidentiality guidance.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from the medical profession concerning the possible benefits of the use of biologic drugs Etanercept and infliximab as an early treatment to halt the development of rheumatoid arthritis.

Stephen Ladyman: We are not aware of having received any representations from the medical profession on this subject. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence reported on these drugs in 2002, so we would expect that any representations would have been received them. There has, however, been correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members and the public, as well as several Parliamentary Questions, on anti-TNF therapy.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by the NHS on the (a) use of biologic drugs Etanercept and infliximab as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and (b) disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, including methotrexate in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: The use of these groups of drugs (all fall within BNF 10.1.3, Rheumatic Disease Suppressant drugs) in the community is negligible. They are used extensively in hospitals. We do not hold information centrally about expenditure on drugs prescribed and dispensed in hospitals.

Schizophrenia

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of schizophrenics had access to cognitive behavioural therapy in the last year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the percentage of schizophrenics with access to cognitive behavioural therapy is not collected centrally.

Staffing

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what difficulties in (a) recruitment and (b) staff retention were recorded in each NHS trust in England in the latest year for which statistics are available, broken down by (i) speciality, (ii) area of work and (iii) the skills and qualifications required.

John Hutton: The Department of Health collects a three month vacancy survey that offers statistics broken down by speciality and area of work and which measures the recruitment and retention position in each NHS Trust. The results of the vacancy survey for March 2002 are available in the Library. Results for March 2003 are expected to be available in July 2003.

Urology

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will announce the trusts which have been successful in applying for Action On Funding for urology patients.

John Hutton: The Action On Urology pilot sites were announced on 9 May 2003. Each pilot site will receive £94,000 to fund projects over 18 months.
	Details of the pilot sites and copies of the press notices are available at www.modern.nhs.uk/action-on, and have been placed in the Library.

Waiting Times

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) targets he has set and (b) guidance he has issued relating to the treatment of patients who have had their operation cancelled more than once.

John Hutton: Since 1 April 2002, as part of the NHS Plan cancelled operations guarantee, if a patient has their operation cancelled by the hospital on the day of surgery for non-clinical reasons, the hospital will have to offer another binding date within a maximum of the next 28 days or fund the patient's treatment at the time and hospital of the patient's choice. From 1 April 2003, the guarantee has been extended to cover patients cancelled by the hospital for non-clinical reasons at the last minute, for example, on the day of admission to hospital.
	National health service trusts are also required to treat patients who have had their operation cancelled within maximum waiting times for inpatient treatment. There are no specific guidelines on how to treat patients whose operation has been cancelled more than once. General guidance on utilising operating theatres more effectively and managing cancelled operations has been provided through the Modernisation Agency's operating theatre and pre-operative assessment programmes. This guidance is entitled "Tackling Cancelled Operations and Step Guide to Improving Operating Theatre Performance" and can be found at www.modern.nhs.uk/theatreprogramme.

Working Time Directive

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the European Working Time Directive on junior doctors.

John Hutton: The Department has issued guidance to the national health service—HSC 2003/001 'Protecting Staff, Delivering Services—implementing the European Working Time Directive for Doctors in Training' and is funding a series of implementation workshops. A copy has been placed in the Library.